@@tigervv6437 Yeah. I mean you can destroy most cars with an S63 AMG today as well, but you can't really notice that in everyday life since all new cars can get to legal speeds rather quickly. But back then, you could actually feel like sitting in the living room of a rocketship when cruising around in this.
I've been a car fan since I was knee-high to a V8 and this has always been one of my favourites. A real Q-car, a wolf in sheep's clothing and built like a tank. Superb machine.
I've owned a large number of cars between 30 and 40 years old, but none have been as smooth as Mercedes. I can't say anything for Bentley and Rolls Royce because I didn't drive. I'm not a fanatic of any brand, but when it comes to classic vehicles, Mercedes is the number one for me.
@@denizonen you would be suprised how direct and smooth an old Citroen SM or CX for instance was, the steering is unbelievaby direct and the car rides so smooth, but it takes a long time to be able to drive one whout other people thinking you are drunk.
It’s a incredible piece of engineering. It’s about the power of a Golf GTI TCR, which is seriously fast. But this thing is about 40 years older. That’s just mind boggling
550 Nm....286 horse.....i have a 96 740iL ..286 hp and 400 Nm.....i think the W116 is washing the ground with my e38....or no.....hmmm 3 gears vs 5 ...maybe not
286hp@4250/min that is - no doubt they could have gone to 350 or more hp easily, the M100 is quite a modern construction. But the goal was to make this thing as effortless as possible.
Wer nicht weiss, dass der 6,9 nicht volllaufest ist und fröhlich hart in der Drehzahlgrenze unterwegs ist, dem fliegt die Chose schnell um die Ohren und das Geld aus dem Fenster. Diesen Wagen orgelt man nicht im Top Speed.
This 6.9 has got to be my favorite S-class of all time! This was WAY ahead of its time in terms of engineering and technology. And to add to that, these cars are made of raw materials that are practically indestructible as compared to the ones used in the more modern Mercedes Benz sedans.
My Dad had one of this car Mercedes Benz 450 SEL, I had a wonderful memories with my dad with this car. This car is amazing, powerful and so fast. The sound of the engine is still in my head......
This brings back memories, I had a 1974 Mercedes 350 SE with the smaller V-8, same body style. And took a drive to Germany & autobahn, the comfortable road-cruiser just humming along with power under the hood & comfort inside. I still miss that car sometimes...
Me to have a 1976 350SE w116 dark gray, one of the best car what I have in my life...after I have a 280E 1984 Too great car, after mercedes beginning whit al plastic and my dream finish..
Saw this model personally a couple of times driving . It still has an impressive performance, but back in the day it was outright crazy. You saw all these W116 Mercs stately gliding along and then this! Surely the stealthiest of all stealth "muscle cars".
@@reshad3290 if they're made in Germany, they're not bad. However, if made somewhere else, not good either. German cars (all the brands) made a transition back in the 90's from being known for world-class reliability to being loaded with the latest technology and have embraced the concept of planned obsolescence. I still see some older Mercedes (from the 80's and earlier) rolling around in my town but, you don't see (hardly) any in the 10-20 year old range because they become endless money pits.
I had a '79 euro model (grey market import to the US). It truly was bank-vault quiet in the interior at speeds in excess of 100mph. This video really conveys just how rock solid it is at speed. No front end lift, no loss of steering, no sway. You CAN drive it with two fingers at speed. All in all, probably the best 1970's performance car made (beyond, IMO, Ferrari and Lamborghini offerings of the period).
I owned this exact model in the mid 1980s. What a car. You could go up to 100mph on Texas roads - quiet as church inside, and you felt like you were going 30mph. Oh, also got about 18 miles per gallon of gas. Loved how it was all steel not plastic. When you shut the door it closed with a thick click like a bank vault. Loved this car. The dream of a lifetime to own it.
Please don't give them ideas about that 1.0 or 1.8 litre biturbo or they might remove the engine and put solar panels on the roof and all over the car 😭😭😭
Even I bought in my life almost 4 new cars until now ,but this old car still a dream for me ,well I do believe also that the old man behind the steering is one more legend ..... cheers
I spent 3 years in Germany from the late 70's to early 80's and saw these magnificent machines blazing around the Autobahns. I knew a German Doctor who drove (of all things) a Renault LeCar. He would push that little thing on the Autobahn and I thought if we wreck, there won't be enough to put in a cigar box. We had gone out to dinner one night and as we were leaving parked right out front was a beautiful M1. I was drooling all over myself to be in the presence of such a machine. My friend said "forget it, I am not a dentist" (they made big bucks). The owner came out a few minutes later and they started talking and my friend said get in, he'll take you for a short ride. We hit the Autobahn outside of Wiesbaden (and sorry to say this stretch had speed limits) but he put it through it's paces. Wow. What a machine. My friend was looking at a Le Car Alpina (roll cage, tweaked engine and suspension. Fortunately he couldn't fit it because he was 6' 5" and the roll bar was hitting him in the head (and it was probably a good thing because he was not a good driver). He DID get a Golf GTI. He drove that thing like a bat out of Hell and passed a few Mercedes and BMW's and Porsche's and they caught up to us but it took a little time. If I could have any Mercedes, it would be a 450 SEL 6.9. Fast, safe and luxurious.
double?? Don't think so. The 6.9 was approximately 60% more at MSRP than the standard 450 SEL. But it was still one of the most expensive cars of it's day, rivaled price wise only by a comparatively featured Rolls Royce. You could not buy a Rolls though that rode as smoothly, had the performance the 6.9 did, or was as easy to get work done on at any MB dealership.
@@stringer-ik1pc Well, not back in the late 70's it didn't. And let me remind you of the fact this was at the time the wealthiest Americans began buying Mercedes luxury cas rather than their own domestic ones. World leaders too, everything from presidents to dictators ordered theirs. Oh yes, even Elvis Presley purchased a 600 SEL for himself. Context. And while you are at it stop with the anachronistic "assessments" of yours. People back in the late 70's in developing countries didn't have Mercedes's as taxi cars. But the reason the old W123 is still used as taxis in many less wealthy countries is because they're incredibly reliable, rugged and can last seemingly forever - especially the diesel engines which just go on and on and on... Unlike you.
@@paulallen8109 😂😂😂Elvis had more Bentley and Rolls Royce than he did taxis. As for dictators owning them 😂😂😂you forgot to mention Hitler... Who cares about rugged and reliability for a 'status symbol' poor Arabs and Pakistanis drive them enough said.
Thank you!! This is the sort of car I like seeing on here! I used to own a W116 (not a 6.9). I like seeing previous generation cars being put through their paces.
had one in 2000 . was from 1974 . champagne color with leather interior. one of the best cars I ever had. still gutted that I sold it . driving was so smooth and built like a tank. when you closed the doors it felt like you were closing a vault.
É impressionante quão robusto e preciso são os automóveis alemães. Mercedes é definitivamente uma das minhas preferidas , nunca tinha visto esse modelo antes , acho que aqui no Brasil nós não temos nenhuma unidade. Congrats for the quality and greetings from Brazil.
This thing sounds like a locomotive ! Really awesome that you guys get these roads in Germany, and I bet you that the accident and mortality rate is the same or even lowers than other European countries.
it's higher than some countries and lower than others. German drivers are skilled compared to some < cough cough> southern countries but there do have more accidents than some countries with speed limits and better infrastructure
Amazing for a 42 year old car. I love it! Imagine that. A 42 year old car that can do this. That's Mercedes engineering. Just wow. Imagine the surprised look on everyone's faces when this is passing them and accelerating faster than many cars today even.
For me the last real beautiful S-klasse and the first car where I did 180 km/h behind the wheel as an 19 year old kid. The boss reminds me now of Jake Blues, he literally told me : "Hit it " And I did I really did. The car was metallic green with also an off white interior and alloy wheels from Mercedes. We called them Coke bottle cap wheels.
The 280S is literally the polar opposite of this car, mechanically speaking. But they both shared the same beautiful W116 body (albeit slightly differently wheelbases).
Drove one of these when at a security firm doing airport transfers. It was the most comfortable drive I've ever had. And it was the 1st car I've found, where I didn't need the seat all the way back to fit my legs in. At just under 2m, I usually have an issue in most cars
Actually the 1960 383 Plymouths or 383 Dodge Darts were capable of 150mph in stock form with less displacement, for alot less money and 19 years earlier.
An old school pal worked for a up market builder based in Hampstead,London when we left school.from time to time the seemingly nonchalant boss used to need a van for the weekend,as my pal was the newest employee he had the newest van. When the boss wanted his van he would in return give him the keys to either one of these or his Aston Martin,my pal thought he was 'Charlie big spuds',he was barely 19 and smoking around in one of these quite regularly while the rest of us had escorts,Capri,Cortina's,etc..even my 3 litre Capri was toast up against it. all I remember is that it was surprisingly fast,oddly sort of old fashioned despite being quite new and it all seemed quite effortless,lovely old car from when MB could make a car.
Problem with the W109 6.3 was the rear swing-arm type suspension.. very fast, but, a sudden change of direction or rough surface at 220kph ? Scary !!!!!!
Back when Benz were built like tanks. We had a 77' 280E when I was a kid. My family moved to Italy for a year, picked it up brand new & drove it all over Europe.
@@MercedesBenzGKlasse 560SEL has factory top speed of 240km/h, 450SEL 6,9 225km/h. Not that big of a difference given the fact that the M100 engine in the W116 was tech from the 60's and the M117.968 was tech from the 80's
@@MercedesBenzGKlasse I was reffering more to the Injection system being used. D-Jet/K-Jet vs KE-Jet. Yes the block itself is not much different. Ofc the W126 is faster. I was just pointing out that the difference is still not as big as you would expect. the 6,9 was way ahead of its time.
I have both W116 & W126 with V8 engines. W126 is way more economical and slightly easier to drive (both are super relaxing and 'drive themselves'), but W116 just feels more solid than W126. However, choose W126 as my daily driver.
That's just bullshit. It's not a slow car but there were a lot of faster cars at the time, especially sportscars such as the Lamborghini Countach or the Ferrari 365.
@@schmidtproductions98 There was alot of v8 American cars like the Lincoln continental that would runs circles around this...I Had a 73 formula 400 that would out run any ferrrari or Porsche..
Brings back memories of riding in my Dad’s 77’ 280se sedan back in the day. He drove fast and smooth just like this. Dad also had a 71’ 300sel 6.3 which was the predecessor to this 6.9 but the bodies were much different. This body is more akin to his 77’ 280.. Thank you for the experience..
Kommer ihåg 70-talet när jag flög till Frankfurt i tjänsten och blev hämtad i sådana bilar för transport till John Deere i Mannheim, fantastisk komfortabel! Fick själv köra Mercedes 200d som tjänstebil i Tyskland.
Mein Traumwagen damals, und ich würde ihn auch heute wollen. Da geistert immer ein Satz aus einem Autokatalog durch meinen Kopf, den ich nicht mehr zusammenkriege: "Ein zu ..., jenseits normaler Ansprüche liegenden Fahrleistungen fähiges Auto...". ❤
we had one of these, V8 engine Bosch Mechanical fuel injection. 20 years old when we got it 1.5 pound psi differance between 8 cylinders lowest to highest
