PHYBENZ

The W111 is one of my all-time favorite MB models, partially because my family owns one! We have a 1963 220Sb, white with the inline 6, automatic. The car runs great up to this day but needs some body work! Great car though.... I used it all through highschool and college when I was younger.

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Hypersonic

Ha, that's great PHYBENZ ...they are becoming quite a rarity ..look after her

Hypersonic

LOL .....I am not sure if that is a compliment or not dOm

Imhotep Evil

The US version looks better IMO.



This just so freaking stuning.

dOmInIX

Sorry man! I saw 2 words in the thread and thought: ***??
But anyways you can consider the post above as a compliment!

donau

Lovely cars. They were popular taxis (in Europe at least) as well. While that may sound demeaning, I for one don't think that's negative at all. In fact that's a good way of getting a lot of exposure and advertizement for the comfortable smooth ride, and make people start wanting them for themselves as well.

dbtk

I have a brochure about MB design written by Bruno Sacco published in 1988. He commented on the importance not to design for the "spirit of the age". In other words, MB added tail fins to their cars pressured by the prevailing design sensibilities of American luxury cars of the day. By the time MB had released their version it was too late--the tastes had moved away from the tail fins. He reminds us that the MBs should be designed to look relevant for at least 20-25 years after their initial conception. And it is because of this design misstep that the 1961 220SE coupe emerged as one of the most well-proportioned and elegant designs. Here is what Sacco says about the 1959 tail fins:

"When I came to Daimler-Benz at the beginning of 1958, I noticed that everyone responsible was unhappy about the fins, which could no longer be kept at bay. But preparations for production were in full swing, and no one wanted to risk a delay in the launch of the vehicle, planned for the late summer of 1959. The situation finally came to be accepted; someone even said the fins had a function when in reverse gear. The expression 'direction fenders' was coined on the fins, which could no longer be eradicated.

We learned from this experience: the coupe version of this series, which appeared two years later, shows what this design concept actually involved. The treatment of the rear fender, the C-pillar and the rear windscreen were sufficient to elevate this design to immortality."

Hypersonic

That is interesting dbtk, Sacco has commented a lot on past work ..he also thinks the 600 had too much chrome on it.

The tailfins were out-of-date by the time they went into production, as you said.

By 1961, Lincoln was leading the way in automotive design with the slab-sided Continental.

1963 Lincoln Continental limousine.


Rolls-Royce also had it's special Mulliner versions of the Silver Cloud coupé designed by the Norwegian, Vilhelm Koren ...it was a lot more modern than the standard version.



Standard version Silver Cloud ...looking quite old-fashioned by comparison.


The 600 also was right up-to-date with it's styling.

dbtk

Roberto,

You are absolutely correct. Sacco thought the 600 to be a bit garish due in part to its overuse of chrome to mask its larger than life mass. Interesting how design evolves. He was most proud of the W124 coupe and redo (late 1985) W126 s-classes. I think the slab sided Continenals are quite handsome and many cars today take their cues from them. The 'chinese eyed' RR/Bentleys, however, lack the grace of the Phantom Vs and S2s.

Hypersonic

I like them too ...other than early-model Phantom VI's, they must have been the last vehicles since the current Rolls-Royce Phantom to have suicide doors. Also I cannot think of any other production-line 4-door cabriolet since the Lincoln Continental.

1961 Lincoln Continental.

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