The W116 was the first car to wear the S-Class badge because it was such a step change. But why was it so good?
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Sources:
Mercedes-Benz W116:
Mercedes-Benz S-Class:
Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9:
Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3:
Béla Barényi:
Karl Wilfert:
Hanns Martin Schleyer:
W116 S-Class:
W116:
6.9L:
6.9L:
6.9L:
6.9L:
W116:
W116:
Mercedes Media:
ESF 22:
ESF 24:
S-Class climate control:
ABS:
source
Erratum: Yes, the image at around 21m is the W123. Sorry!
0:15 Preamble…Wrong!
If it's 1972 & I can have any car I want its, going to be a Datsun 1600 SSS! 😍
(It also had its fuel tank above the rear axle, but was released in Japan in 1967)
Pray, continue 🙂
If you gave me a time machine to 1972, I'm buying an international Scout II.
I’m not sure about crumple zone engineering but in my experience an earlier car than the S Class to have a fuel tank moved up ahead of the back axle was the Triumph 2000. I had one for a while in the middle 2000s and the fuel tank was behind the rear seat backrest, in the boot, hidden behind a hardboard shroud.
This is the hero car of many famous movies and tv shows. When watching Bate Motel and seeign it, i was looking to buy one
I might go for a Buick Riviera or a left over prior year 280SE 3.5 coupe or cabrio instead if I could go back to 1972.
The father of a school friend (he was – of all things – a gynaecologist) had a silver blue S-Class. He loved driving us round in it to concerts, the theatre or even just out for a meal, and it was a real treat every time. Back then, I was particularly impressed by the inner frames of the side windows, which sloped upwards towards the rear and went a long way towards creating a sense of shelter in that car. From the outside, in the early 1980s, it already looked a bit old-fashioned with all that chrome and the wide wheel arches.
In any case, the gap between my father’s Passat and this S-Class was a hundred times greater than that between a modern Passat and a modern S-Class.
The most underated S class.
I love all your videos,they are so informative,and in some cases bring back memories of cars i have owned or worked on as a mechanic.thankyou keep up the great work.
Another awesome video – love these. Keep ‘em coming!
Since the Model S just stopped production, how about a Story about it? Probably one of the most important cars of our time.
Love your videos, keep them coming pleeeeeease!
An S class saved me life when my friend spun his Dad's at full speed on the highway. We spun and slammed into the jersey barrier at well over 100 mph. He told his Dad the brakes failed. No, Dad didn't believe it. Caused 20k in damage, in mid 80s money.
Channel name is very appropriate, in this case😁
Venezuela!? Didn’t know this. We had so many automakers in Venezuela between the 60s and 80s…all wiped out 😢
5:10
Furthermore, the W126-series S-Class in 1981 introduced the first pyrotechnic front seatbelt pretensioners, beating Volvo by 6 years. Admirably, Daimler-Benz AG did not enforce or restrict access to those patents, following the same ethos first established by Volvo in 1959.
-never buy a car in it's first year, so wait a year.
Man, I can listen his narration all day. Very thorough, detailed, and informative.
These legendary Mercedes cars went the dodo route. I see maybe one w123, w126 and w124 every 2 months. R107 a little more often. But the w116… never. Because non pristine examples don’t retain value like 70/80s American cars. Same route as 90’s and 2000’s S, E and C cars. The depreciation, and any expensive upkeep makes these cars undesirable to most people. I mean 90% or more. I see these cars, rusting in private parking lots, awaiting for a respray, faded and perished interior reupholstery, injection rebuild, and unsolvable various issues. I would rather have an early Maxima, Cressida, Camry, 929, 733i or similar. I’ll pass on any early or late Audi from personal experience.
C class in 1982?
At 7:48 you make a lot of the Mercedes having the fuel tank over the rear axle, complimenting the rear crumple zone. The Rover P6 had both these features in 1963 and beat the previous large Mercedes in the first 1964 European Car of the Year award. So looks like they had 9 years to copy……
Stunning car. Absolutely stunning.
1:04 don't forget about volvo
Great car. Yellow color very nice.
True tour de force
Brilliant channel,brilliant car. A little treasure all we must keep to enjoy forever…❤😊
JR Ewing drove three of these. A silver 280SE, a darker green 280SE, and then a 450SEL in Thisle Green, before moving on to the W126.
17:57 Driving around half-timbered houses in your S-Class. That's what life is about.
Mercedes S Class: I'm the safest car in 1972!
SAAB 99: Hold my Glögg !
I'd rather have my 1972 Coupe Deville , it wasn't wheezy like the Merc and had a trunk you could stuff a family of 5 in along with their dog without having to chop them up.
Holy real person crash test dummy, Batman! Pity that he took out the beauty he was driving and a gorgeous Taunus 17M in one clip. Speaking of which, could you please do a video on the Ford Taunus? All the "M"s upto the mid 20s, pretty please? 🤞😬🤞!
Back in the early 1970's at the Ontario Science Centre they had short films talking about cars and their manufacture. One of them about designing the S-Class as seen above. Was amazing and the first time i had heard of safety features. Thanks for the video.