1993 Mercedes-Benz S-Class - 600 SEC

One of only 8,573 ever made

Most powerful coupé with 408-HP-V12

Striking color combination

Only 85,098 documented kilometers

Chassis no.: WDB1400761A129648

Engine no.: 120.980-12-019098

Production no.: 9801152

Paint: 888 Teal Blue Metallic

Interior: 265 Leather mushroom

Factory options:

217 Self-levelling suspension on rear axle with ADS

245 On-board computer

282 Ski bag (inboard loading facility)

303 Front folding armrest with tray

406 Single seat with orthopaedic front seat backrest, left and right

551 Anti-theft/anti-break-in warning system

599 Green heat-insulating glass for side and rear windows, heated rear window (laminated safety glass) windscreen clear glass

652 8-hole light alloy rims

682 Fire extinguisher

810 Sound package (Bose)

816 Radio remote control

819 CD changer – Alpine – in trunk

873 Seat heater for left and right front seats

884 Trunk lid additional locking mechanism (HZS)

Provenance:

04/05/1993 – Berta Justine Marie Hertel, Nuernberg, DE

29/04/1998 – Hildegard Hertel-Zeumer, Erkrath, DE

08/01/2009 – Philipp Suess, Wesseling, DE

Documents:

German Fahrzeugbrief (1993)

German registration papers (2009)

Austrian Einzelgenehmigung (2016)

Original service booklet

About the model line:

C 140

Following the success of the C 126 Coupés, there was never any real question whether the new S-Class would once again be joined by a sporting two-door model. As it had with its predecessor, Bruno Sacco’s design team refused to take the path of least resistance. Instead, it created an entirely new body on a wheelbase shortened by almost ten centimetres. Hardly a single body panel behind the windscreen was shared with the saloon.

As before, the headlamps and radiator grille were redesigned so that a large Mercedes star once again dominated the front end. The absence of a B- pillar and window frames was already a familiar Mercedes Coupé hallmark. New, however, was the completely independent rear styling, featuring bespoke tail lamps of its own design. Like the saloon, the proportions appeared more substantial and more imposing than before. What the Coupé may have lost in elegance in the eyes of some critics, it gained in presence and authority.

Beneath the elegant bodywork, Mercedes-Benz spared no effort, just as it had with the saloon. Double glazing, soft-close doors and boot lid, driver’s airbag, seat-belt pretensioners, automatic climate control and virtually every conceivable comfort feature came as a matter of course. When the car made its debut at the North American International Auto Show in January 1992, only the two largest engines in the Mercedes-Benz portfolio were offered beneath its long bonnet: the 5.0-litre V8 in the 500 SEC and the 6.0- litre V12 in the 600 SEC. Series production of both models began in October 1992.

Following the saloon, Mercedes renamed the Coupés in 1993 as the S 500 Coupé and S 600 Coupé. A third engine variant, the S 420 Coupé, followed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1994. In 1995, the V12 Coupé was the first to receive a new electronically controlled five-speed automatic transmission, soon followed by both V8 models. The new gearbox not only reduced fuel consumption but was also less expensive to manufacture. The C 140 also introduced several technological firsts for a production Mercedes-Benz, including the Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and the GPS-based Auto Pilot System (APS) navigation system.

The 1996 facelift brought yet another change of name. Rechristened CL 420, CL 500 and CL 600, the Coupés simultaneously gave birth to an entirely new model line. The concept itself, however, remained untouched. The update also introduced xenon headlamps with dynamic headlamp levelling, automatic seat-occupancy recognition, PARKTRONIC and standard side airbags.

Building the large Coupés was an expensive undertaking, with much of the work still carried out by hand. Unsurprisingly, this was reflected in their price, ensuring a high degree of exclusivity. Production numbers fell well short of those achieved by the previous generation. Fewer than 27,000 examples were built by 1998. Yet for Mercedes-Benz, its most exclusive two-door model was anything but a failure. Prestige, after all, has never been measured in production numbers.