MAKING A MARQUE

Mercedes-Benz, during its chrome-bumper era, could never be accused of making changes for change's sake. Instead, it tended to make a careful plan and stick with it. The Ponton of 1953, the first modern, unitary-bodied Mercedes passenger car, was the genesis of a post-war concept that would carry the marque through to the '70s. It was nothing more than a beautifully engineered and built three-box, five-seat, overhead-cam-engined saloon car with swing-axle rear suspension that, across a typical nine-year production cycle, was expected to serve as a diesel taxi workhorse while also, in its six-cylinder form, cutting the mustard as luxury transport.
So if the 1959 Fintail range was little more than a safer, more fashionable Ponton, then the W108 - and its various extrapolations was really just a tidied-up Fintail with a variety of six-cylinder and V8 engine options. Certain glamour models such as the 300SL and 300 Adenauers fell outside of this mainstream engineering rationalism, but even the pretty Pagoda SL series was really just a prudent development of Fintail technology.
The elegant 'square-back' W108s and W109s began to establish a more prestigious line of Mercedes saloons - not officially an S-Class yet but, significantly, offering no four-cylinder or diesel models in a range that could only extend itself up, never down.
Behind the scenes in the mid-1960s the Stuttgart engineers were cultivating plans for a new, medium-sized saloon range, known collectively as the W114 and W115, that would not only supplant the W110/111/112 models (whose baroque styling was falling rapidly out of favour), but also establish a new chassis bloodline that would form the basis of the firm's engineering through to the end of the '80s.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 2023-Ausgabe von Classic & Sports Car.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 9.500 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 2023-Ausgabe von Classic & Sports Car.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 9.500 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden

A ROYAL RUMBLE
Never mind the United States, British V8s have long been a source of refined, charismatic performance, as 10 of the finest demonstrate

ALPINA B3 GT
The limited-run GT series marks the end of Alpina's independence from BMW

All American halo
Cadillac's lofty flagship for the late 1950s was a handbuilt showcase of material finish and technological convenience

JUST A PHASE I'M GOING THROUGH
I was brought up on a diet of car and WW2 movies and TV shows, all featuring iconic vehicles of on-screen history.

AFFAIRS OF THE HEART
MG's XPower SV offered a thrilling new deployment of Ford's Modular V8, but Shelby Automotive had similar ideas

Mick WALSH
Everyone loves a road trip, and I've been lucky to experience some wonderful long drives with friends and heroes.

CLASSICS GET ON THE ROAD
Drive It Day, the annual classic celebration that marks the anniversary of the One Thousand Mile Trial of 23 April 1900, returned this year on 27 April.

BRAZIL NUT IN THE PHILIPPINES
When I first visited the Philippines with my then wife-to-be Helena in 2015, I was surprised to see a few VW Brasílias running around.

Martin BUCKLEY
Sitting just above my head on the bookcase behind my desk are the rusty remains of a Mamod steam car that I've had since I was 10 or 11 years old.

PARTY TIME AT THE PARK
A race for pre-war sports cars was a fitting highlight of the Donington Historic Festival from 2-4 May, as Donington Park circuit marked the 90th anniversary of its first Grand Prix.