When Janis Joplin went on stage on Woodstock in 1969 and performed her little hymn to greed and desire it was these cars she was singing about. Mercedes big coupés and convertibles of the 1960’es. Rolls Royce made the most posh cars. Mercedes however built the finest luxury cars of the days. As a high-performance quality car they really had no competitors and they came with a price tag that matched. The elegant 280 SE convertible with the internal W111 code was perhaps the pinnacle for the exclusivity that characterized Mercedes during those years. In the period from February 1968 to May 1970 only 1.390 of these cars were built.
This 3-owner car is an original convertible and not a later converted coupé. It was sold new in St. Louis, Missouri were its 1st owner had it from new to 1979. In 2008 it was imported to Denmark by its 3rd owner. Car was in good condition but the Danish owner wanted to get rid of the US side lights, but during that process he decided to take the body completely apart. Engine and gearbox was in excellent condition and needed only a service. The body was carefully inspected for corrosion, small areas were repaired and then the car received a high quality repaint in its original ivory white color. Together with a full upholstery in rich mocca leather this car is now absolutely stunning.
This sought after, all matching numbers, matching colors ‘Breitkühler’ has still only 68.000 original miles on the clock. Its silky smooth in-line 6 cylinder engine delivering 160 BHP through the 4-speed automatic with column shifter is an absolute joy to drive. Behind the wheel and beautiful art deco inspired dash board it’s easy to get a feel of being in a different world than the mere mortals in the surrounding traffic – because in fact one is. So, oh Lord…
