1994 Mercedes-Benz S 280

Sammlung Sonderklasse - Auction

Lot 059: 1994 Mercedes-Benz 280 S

Vehicle description

UNUSUAL AND RARE COLOR COMBINATION

ONLY 1,261 CARS PAIRED WITH MUSHROOM LEATHER

TWO REGISTERED AUSTRIAN OWNERS TO DATE

ONLY 60,286 DOCUMENTED KILOMETERS

Technical details

Year: 1994

Chassis N°: WDB1400281A215000

Engine N°: 104.944-12-006674

Production N°: 9154499

Paint: 485 ROSEWOOD METALLIC

Interior: 265 LEATHER MUSHROOM

Options

221 LEFT FRONT SEAT, ELECTRICALLY ADJUSTABLE

222 RIGHT FRONT SEAT, ELECTRICALLY ADJUSTABLE

425 5-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

515 RADIO MB CLASSIC WITH TRAFFIC NEWS DECODER (VK)

540 ROLLER BLIND, ELECTRIC, FOR REAR WINDOW

551 ANTI-THEFT/ANTI-BREAK-IN WARNING SYSTEM

600 HEADLAMP WIPER/WASHER

630 ECE-WARNING TRIANGLE

731 WOOD TRIM, BURRED WALNUT ROOT

880 CLOSING SYSTEM WITH INFRARED REMOTE CONTROL

920 ENGINE WITH ADDITIONAL PARTS FOR EMISSION CONTROL

Provenance

28/07/1994 DIPL. ING. JOHANN SCHODER, YBBS AN DER DONAU, AT

02/03/2016 SONJA MARIA STRAUSS, POECHLARN, AT

Documents

AUSTRIAN TYPENSCHEIN (1994)

ORIGINAL SERVICE BOOKLET

About the model line

W 140

As early as 1981, with the W 126 S-Class barely two years into its production life, development work had already begun on its successor. No less than three billion Deutsche Mark had been allocated to the project, with a market launch scheduled for 1989. Under the direction of Chief Designer Bruno Sacco, several proposals were developed, before Olivier Boulay’s design was selected as the definitive direction in late 1986. Then the unthinkable happened. BMW unveiled the 750i, Germany’s first production V12 of the post-war era, a car that made Mercedes‘ mighty 560 look decidedly old-fashioned in the first comparison tests. Suddenly, all the high-tech electronics that had been engineered into the new S-Class seemed almost secondary. Mercedes had no choice but to respond. A V12 was now indispensable—and it had to be ready from day one. The launch was postponed by two years.

Mercedes followed much the same path as its Bavarian rival. Two six-cylinder engines effectively became one V12. With six litres of displacement – one litre more than Munich’s offering – and 408 horsepower, Stuttgart left no room for doubt and once again relegated the competition to second place. The engineering was matched by equally bold styling. Gone was the restrained elegance of its predecessor. Broad surfaces, softly rounded forms and imposing proportions gave the W 140 a presence that was impossible to ignore. It was not universally admired at first glance, but that was precisely the point. The new S-Class was never intended to be merely pleasing. It was meant to command authority.

Beneath the sheet metal, Mercedes-Benz spared no effort. Double glazing provided a level of sound insulation previously unknown in a production car. Doors and boot lid could be gently pulled shut by power-assisted soft-close mechanisms, while the climate control, seats and suspension delivered a standard of comfort that left even the finest luxury saloons of the competition looking dated. Electronics found their way into virtually every aspect of the car. The W 140 was no longer an automobile defined solely by mechanical engineering – it had become a rolling showcase of advanced technology.

Mercedes showed equally little restraint when it came to engines. Alongside the magnificent V12, refined inline-sixes and effortlessly powerful V8s formed the backbone of the range. Outright speed was never the S-Class’s greatest strength. Its defining quality was the complete ease with which it mastered every journey. In the W 140, performance was never something that had to be summoned. It was simply always there.

Such technical abundance inevitably came at a price. The W 140 grew larger, heavier and more complex than any S-Class before it. Retractable guide rods at the rear helped even experienced chauffeurs judge where the enormous limousine actually ended. At the same time, its debut in 1991 coincided with a global recession. While restraint had become the order of the day in many parts of the world, the new S-Class struck some critics as a symbol of excessive opulence. Few Mercedes-Benz models have ever polarised opinion quite so strongly.

Time, however, would prove remarkably kind to the W 140. The 1994 facelift brought a more restrained appearance together with Mercedes-Benz’s new model nomenclature: S 280, S 320, S 420, S 500 and S 600. By the end of production in 1998, more than 400,000 saloons had been built. The W 140 was never intended to be a modest S-Class. It was the most uncompromising interpretation of what Mercedes-Benz believed a luxury automobile should be at the beginning of the 1990s. Once again, the S-Class had become the benchmark by which all others were measured.

Auction information

Auction: 07 November 2026, 14:00

Auction house: Humer Granner & Co

Starting price: 3,000 EUR

Reserve: No reserve

Viewing: 05. November 2026 10:00 – 18:00, 06. November 2026 09:00 – 18:00, 07. November 2026 ab 09:00

Location: Gewerbeparkstraße 17, 4101 Feldkirchen an der Donau, AT

Bidding: In person · Online live · Telephone · Written bid

Auction registration: Schriftliches Kaufangebot, Als Telefonbieter, Online - live

Contact: Wolfgang Humer, +43 650 7262524 / Reinhard Granner, +43 699 17127272

About the auction

This Mercedes-Benz is part of the Sammlung Sonderklasse, one of the largest private Mercedes-Benz collections in Europe. The entire collection will be auctioned from 5 to 7 November 2026 in Feldkirchen an der Donau, Austria. All 83 cars are offered without reserve.

The collection also includes around 1,000 automobilia items and several fully furnished rooms, which will be auctioned on 6 and 7 November by Ni-Cola Classics. Please note that if you want to bid on automobilia, you must register in advance at nicola-ac.de. You can also view all lots at https://auction.nicola-ac.de/

The car auction starts on Saturday 7 November at 14:00, and you can bid in person or online. The cars can be viewed on Thursday 5 November from 10:00 to 18:00. Please note that if you want to bid on this car, you must register in advance with Humer Granner at https://hg.auction/auktionen/auktion-november-2026/.

You can order the catalogue at metropole-auction.com. It also serves as your admission ticket for two people. The catalogue does not replace registration with the auction house.

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Auction overview

Auction catalogue