1962 Mercedes-Benz S-Class W111/112 - 220 SEb Cabriolet

Delivered new to Germany

Extensively documented history

Comprehensively restored just over 20 years ago

One of only 2,729 convertibles ever made

Two years after the saloon, Mercedes-Benz unveiled the Cabriolet and Coupé versions of its new luxury-class range to mark the opening of the museum in Untertürkheim in February 1961. The fins – pardon, parking aids – were pared back to the merest hint of little fins, while, unlike before, the wheelbase of the saloon was retained. For the first time, that meant four proper seats for fully grown adults.

The design was Paul Bracq’s first work after his arrival in Stuttgart. What he created was modern, almost restrained, yet at the same time something of a masterstroke. The Coupé and Cabriolet already anticipated numerous elements of the W 108 and W 109 saloons that followed, and remained in production throughout the entire lifespan of those models. Building them, however, was labour-intensive. So labour-intensive, in fact, that four times as many parts were made by hand as on the four-door saloon. Luxury has its price, after all, and the elegant Cabriolets and Coupés cost roughly twice as much as their saloon counterparts.

The 220 SEb came first, joined by the 300 SE as the flagship – almost 10,000 marks more expensive, laden with every luxury, the larger engine from its predecessor and its temperamental air suspension. The somewhat peculiar model designation was the fault of the fuel-injected version of the preceding model, which was now referred to as the 220 SE(a). Its successor therefore became the SEb, even though the two had little in common apart from the engine. Another five horsepower had been coaxed from that engine, giving the new 220 SEb a more than adequate 120 bhp.

Of the 220 SEb models, it was the Coupé in particular that surprised with remarkably strong sales. By October 1965, more than 14,000 had been built, compared with just 2,729 Cabriolets. Yet when they were introduced, the difference in price was only 2,000 marks. Still, 25,500 marks for a Sunday car was a fairly substantial sum in those days. At 23,500 DM, the Coupé could at least make a convincing case for itself with unrestricted everyday usability.

The full measure of the era’s glamorous luxury, however, belonged to the Cabriolet alone. It became a suitably stylish star of the boulevards back then – and even today, it still knows how to make an entrance wherever it goes.

This 220 SEb Cabriolet was first registered by Viktor Schiffer in Mönchengladbach in July 1962. Only a few months later, he sold his Mercedes to Margarethe Schulze, an authorised company signatory from Braunschweig. In 1973, the car moved to Munich, where it was taken off the road in September 1982.

It was not until two decades later that the 220 SEb Cabriolet returned to the road in the autumn, following a restoration. An appraisal from the summer of that same year had already awarded the not-yet-completed Mercedes a condition grade of 2+. During the work, the car was converted to a manual gearbox with performance in mind. It suits the free-revving character of the engine rather better than the automatic. The engine itself was subsequently overhauled in 2003.

At the end of 2004, a Dortmund businessman acquired the restored Cabriolet for his collection and registered it in 2006. Twenty years later, after several years standing idle, the Mercedes now awaits careful recommissioning so that it can once again demonstrate its considerable class to the full.