Mercedes-Benz W111
Encyclopedia
- See Mercedes-Benz S-ClassMercedes-Benz S-ClassThe Mercedes-Benz S-Class is a series of luxury sedans produced by Mercedes-Benz, a division of Daimler AG. The classification was officially introduced in 1972 with the W116 S-Class, which succeeded previous Mercedes-Benz models dating to the mid-1950s...
for a complete overview of all S-Class models.
The Mercedes-Benz W111 was a chassis code given to its top-range vehicles, including 4-door sedans, produced from 1959 to 1968, and 2-door coupes and cabriolets from 1961 to 1971. The W111, was initially attributed only to 6-cylinder cars with 2.2 litre engines. The luxury version with big-block 3 litre engines were given the chassis code W112
Mercedes-Benz W112
The Mercedes-Benz W112 was a flagship model in Mercedes-Benz's line-up during the early 1960s. The car, produced in four modifications: coupé, cabriolet and sedans, was identical to the standard Mercedes-Benz W111 Fintail car, but was fitted with the M189 big-block six-cylinder engine, as well as...
. The entry-level vehicles with 4 cylinder engines were called W110
Mercedes-Benz W110
The W110 "Fintail" was Mercedes-Benz's line of midsize four-cylinder automobiles in the mid-1960s. The line was introduced with the 190c and 190Dc sedan in April, 1961, replacing the W120 180c/180Dc and W121 190b/190Db...
. All three versions W110, W111, and W112, in both 2 and 4 door bodies, were built on an identical chassis.
Design History
Mercedes-Benz emerged from World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as an automaker in the early 1950s with the expensive 300
Mercedes-Benz 300
Mercedes-Benz has sold a number of automobiles with the "300" model name:* 1951–1957 W186** 1951–1957 300* 1951–1958 W188** 1951–1958 300S* 1954–1963 W198** 1954–1963 300SL* 1958–1962 W189** 1958–1962 300d...
Adenauers and the 300SL roadsters that gained it fame, but it was the simple unibody Ponton
Mercedes-Benz Ponton
The Ponton was Daimler-Benz's first totally new Mercedes-Benz series of passenger vehicles produced after World War II. In July 1953, the cars replaced the pre-war-designed Type 170 series and were the bulk of the automaker's production through 1959, though some models lasted through 1962.The...
s that were the volume models. However, in both their construction and design, the Pontons were archaic, based on 1940s models of U.S. sedans.
Work on replacing these cars began in 1956, and the design focused on passenger comfort and safety. The basic Ponton cabin was widened and squared off, with larger glass area improving driver visibility
Driver visibility
In transport, driver visibility is the maximum distance at which the driver of a vehicle can see and identify prominent objects around the vehicle. Visibility is primarily determined by weather conditions and by a vehicle's design. The parts of a vehicle that influence visibility include the...
. A milestone in car design were front and rear crumple zone
Crumple zone
The crumple zone is a structural feature mainly of automobiles. Crumple zones have also been incorporated into railcars in recent years.They are designed to absorb the energy from the impact during an accident by controlled deformation. This energy is much higher than is commonly recognized...
s that would absorb kinetic energy
Kinetic energy
The kinetic energy of an object is the energy which it possesses due to its motion.It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acceleration, the body maintains this kinetic energy unless its speed changes...
from impact. The automaker also patented retractable seatbelts. (The death toll in the new generation cars would be less than half that of the pontons.)
The exterior was designed for the European and North American markets. The body was modern and featured a characteristic tailfins that gave gave the models their nickname — the fintail .
The sedan
Series production of the 4-door sedan began in August 1959, and the car was premiered at the Frankfurt Auto Show in autumn. Initially the series consisted of three models the 220b, 220Sb, and the 220SEb. These replaced the 219 W105, the 220S W180 and the 220SE W128 Ponton sedans respectively. The 220b was seen as a budget version lacking the extra chrome trims on the exterior, and having more simple wheel hub caps, interior trim and even pockets on doors. The prices for the three cars was 16,750, 18,500 and 20,500 in Deutsche Mark respectively. Production ratio was roughly at a rate of 1:2:1.Powering the three cars was an identical 2195 cc straight-6 engine, carried over from the previous generation, producing 95 hp at 4800 rpm, and capable of accelerating the heavy car to 160 km/h (155 if fitted with optional automatic gearbox). The engine of the 220Sb with twin carburettors, produced 110 hp at 5000 rpm and raised the top speed to 165 km/h (102.5 mph) (160 km/h (99.4 mph)) and improved the 0-100 km/h acceleration to 15 seconds (16 on the 220b). The top range 220SEb featured Bosch
Robert Bosch GmbH
Robert Bosch GmbH is a multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. It is the world's largest supplier of automotive components...
fuel injection
Fuel injection
Fuel injection is a system for admitting fuel into an internal combustion engine. It has become the primary fuel delivery system used in automotive petrol engines, having almost completely replaced carburetors in the late 1980s....
producing 120 hp at 4800 rpm, with top speed of 172 km/h (106.9 mph) (168 km/h (104.4 mph) for auto) and a 0-100 km/h in 14 seconds.
In 1961, the fintail range was filled with three new models, a simplified 4-cylinder W110
Mercedes-Benz W110
The W110 "Fintail" was Mercedes-Benz's line of midsize four-cylinder automobiles in the mid-1960s. The line was introduced with the 190c and 190Dc sedan in April, 1961, replacing the W120 180c/180Dc and W121 190b/190Db...
, an identical, but fitted with a big-block 3 litre engine W112
Mercedes-Benz W112
The Mercedes-Benz W112 was a flagship model in Mercedes-Benz's line-up during the early 1960s. The car, produced in four modifications: coupé, cabriolet and sedans, was identical to the standard Mercedes-Benz W111 Fintail car, but was fitted with the M189 big-block six-cylinder engine, as well as...
, and a 2-door coupe/cabriolet of the W111/W112 (see below). Though never attributed as part of the fintail family, the Mercedes-Benz W113
Mercedes-Benz W113
The Mercedes-Benz W 113 roadsters, designed by Paul Bracq, were produced from 1963 through 1971. Their distinctive "pagoda" hardtop roof, designed by Béla Barényi, gave them their contemporary nickname...
Pagoda roadster was designed as an identical modernisation of the 190SL Ponton, and came about in 1963.
In summer 1965, production was terminated in launch of the new Mercedes-Benz W108
Mercedes-Benz W108
The Mercedes-Benz W108 and W109 were luxury cars built by Mercedes-Benz from 1965 through 1972. The line was an update of the predecessor W111 and W112 fintail sedans. The cars were successful in West Germany and in export markets that included including North America and Southeast Asia...
sedan. A total production of each was: 220b - 69,691, 220Sb - 161,119, and 220SEb - 65,886. Earlier in May, Mercedes-Benz gave its budget-range W110 cars a major facelift and in doing so opted to continue producing the W111 as a new model 230S. Previously the W110 was separate in terms of marketing and was classed as a 4 instead of 6-cylinder, 1965 turned that around. Despite their visual differences the cars were practically identical in terms of chassis and drivetrain. In 1965 the W110 was equipped with a six-cylinder engine, creating the model 230. The 230S, became a flagship model of the Mercedes mid-range cars (predecessors to today's E-class).
The 230S was visually identical to the 220S, with a modernised 2306 cm³ M180 engine with twin Zenith carburettors producing 120 hp at 5400 rpm. Top speed 176 km/h (109.4 mph) (174 km/h (108.1 mph) on auto), acceleration 13 seconds (15 on auto). In this final configuration a total of 41,107 cars were built through January 1968 when the last of 4-door fintails left the production line. Between 1959 and 1968 a total of 337,803 W111s were built.
The two-door
Design of a replacement for the two-door Pontons began in 1957, as most of the chassis and drivetrain were to be unified with the sedan, the scope was focused on the exterior styling. Some of the mock-ups and prototypes show that Mercedes-Benz attempted to give the two-door car a front styling almost identical to what would be realised in the Pagoda roadsterMercedes-Benz W113
The Mercedes-Benz W 113 roadsters, designed by Paul Bracq, were produced from 1963 through 1971. Their distinctive "pagoda" hardtop roof, designed by Béla Barényi, gave them their contemporary nickname...
, but ultimately favoured the work of engineer Paul Bracq
Paul Bracq
Paul Bracq is an automotive designer noted for his work at Citroën, Peugeot, and Mercedes-Benz.Bracq's career began in the design studio of Philippe Charbonneaux, where he served as Charbonneaux' assistant in 1953 and 1954...
. The rear bodywork however, persisted, and thus, though officially still called a fintail the rear end design had no chrome fin highlights.
Production began in late 1960, and in February of the next year the coupe was premiered in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
for the 75th anniversary of the opening of Mercedes-Benz Museum
Mercedes-Benz Museum
The Mercedes-Benz Museum is an automotive museum housed in Stuttgart, Germany. Stuttgart is home to the Mercedes-Benz brand and the international headquarters of Daimler AG. The current building, which stands directly outside the main gate of the Daimler factory in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, was...
. The convertible followed at the Frankfurt auto show a few months later; the car was almost identical to the coupe, with the soft-top roof folded into a recess behind the rear seat and covered by a tightly-fitting bag. Unlike the previous generation of two-door ponton series, there was only one model for the 2-door vehicle, the 220SE on both versions, with the identical M127 2195 cc engine. Prices in 1962 were 32,500 for the coupe and 36,000 NLG for the cabriolet. Options included a sliding sunroof for the coupe, automatic transmission, power steering, and individual rear seats.
In March 1962, Mercedes-Benz released the almost identical two-door 300SE. However, due to marketing reasons, this car, like its sedan stablemate, was kept apart from the 220SE, and had its own chassis number W112
Mercedes-Benz W112
The Mercedes-Benz W112 was a flagship model in Mercedes-Benz's line-up during the early 1960s. The car, produced in four modifications: coupé, cabriolet and sedans, was identical to the standard Mercedes-Benz W111 Fintail car, but was fitted with the M189 big-block six-cylinder engine, as well as...
, which envisioned it as a successor to the W187 300S two-door series, rather than the Ponton range. The car was featured with a chrome strip, air suspension and Daimler's top-range 2996 cm³ M189 engine. For prices of 45,000 and 48,500 for the hard and soft roofs respectively, this vehicle remained split from the rest of the W111 family.
In summer of 1965 Mercedes-Benz launched its new replacements for both W111 and W112 sedans, the W108 and W109
Mercedes-Benz W108
The Mercedes-Benz W108 and W109 were luxury cars built by Mercedes-Benz from 1965 through 1972. The line was an update of the predecessor W111 and W112 fintail sedans. The cars were successful in West Germany and in export markets that included including North America and Southeast Asia...
respectively. In a bizarre twist of fate, this car's design was based on the W111 coupe, but widened and squared off, as the fintail fashion was quickly eroding by the mid 1960s. Design work on a future new chassis that would fully replace the Ponton-derivatives which both W111/W112 and W108/W109 were, was well under way (the concept car of the first S-class
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is a series of luxury sedans produced by Mercedes-Benz, a division of Daimler AG. The classification was officially introduced in 1972 with the W116 S-Class, which succeeded previous Mercedes-Benz models dating to the mid-1950s...
was shown in 1967). Given these two facts, Daimler did not develop a W108/W109 two-door vehicle at all and continued production of the W111/W112. However both models were modernised; the 220SE was superseded in early autumn by the 250SE which featured the new 2496 cm³ M129 engine, producing 150 hp at 5500 rpm, which gave it a significant improvement in top speed, 193 km/h (119.9 mph) (188 km/h (116.8 mph) on auto), and 0-100 km/h acceleration 12 seconds (14 on auto). Visibly the changes only affected the new 14-inch rims with new hub cabs and beauty rings; this was to accommodate the larger disk brakes and the new rear axle from the W108 family.
In November 1967, the 250SE was superseded by the new 280SE. The new M130 engine had 2778 cubic centimetres volume, and output 160 hp at 5500 rpm. Top speed was hardly affected, the acceleration though improved to 10.5 seconds (13 on auto). Inside the car received a wood veneer option on the dashboard and other minor changes including door lock buttons and different heater levers. The hubcaps were changed yet again to a new one piece design and the design of the exterior mirror changed. The 300SE, based on early 1950s M189, was also retired. The modern 280SE could outperform the 300SE despite the smaller engine.
The coupe and cabriolet was back to a single model until its replacement, the new-generation chassis in 1968.
A final model was added in August 1969 the 280SE 3.5. The car was fitted with the brand-new M116 3499 cc V8 engine
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
with 200 hp at 5800 rpm, a top speed of 210 km/h (130.5 mph) (205 km/h (127.4 mph) on auto) and a 0-100 at 9,5 seconds (11,5 on auto). To accommodate the large engine, the car's front grille was widened and front and rear bumpers were modified with the addition of rubber strips. The rear lenses changed to a flatter cleaner design. This change was carried across the standard 280SE. Some view this car as an ideological successor to the W112 300SE, though it lacked the air suspension.
There were plans to place the larger M117 V8 engine on the W111 (the model would have been called 280SE 4.5).
The last 280SE was produced in January 1971, with the 280SE 3.5 ending in July. The total production over the decade was: 220SEb - 16,902, 250SE - 6,213, 280SE - 5,187, and 280SE 3.5 - 4,502 units. Not including 3,127 W112 300SE models, the grand total of 2-door W111 models was 32,804 of which 7,456 were convertibles.
The replacement for the 2-doors models was the C107 SLC, focusing on compact sportiness. Moreover for nearly two-decades the convertible would disappear from Mercedes-Benz's line-up altogether (only in 1992 will Daimler launch the A124
Mercedes-Benz W124
W124 is the Mercedes-Benz internal chassis-designation for the 1985 to 1995 version of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The W124 models replaced the W123 models after 1985 and were superseded by the W210 E-Class after 1995.-History:...
).
Models
| Model | Years | Chassis code | Engine | Displacement | Power | Built |
| | | | | [cc] | [PS] / [kW] | |
||||||
| 220 Sedan | 8/59–8/65 | 111.010 | M180.940 / R 6 | 2195 | 95 / 70 | 69691 |
| 220 S Sedan | 8/59–8/65 | 111.012 | M180.941 / R 6 | 2195 | 105/110 // 77/81 | 161119 |
| 220 SE Sedan | 8/59–8/65 | 111.014 | M127.982 / R 6 | 2195 | 120 / 88 | 66086 |
| 220 SE Coupé | 2/61–10/65 | 111.021 | M127.984 / R 6 | 2195 | 120 / 88 | 14173 |
| 220 SE Cabriolet | 9/61–10/65 | 111.023 | M127.984 / R 6 | 2195 | 120 / 88 | 2729 |
| 230 S Sedan | 7/65–1/68 | 111.010 | M180.947 / 951 / R 6 | 2295 | 120 / 88 | 41107 |
| 250 SE Coupé | 9/65–12/67 | 111.021 | M129.980 / 981 / R 6 | 2496 | 150 / 110 | 5259 |
| 250 SE Cabriolet | 9/65–12/67 | 111.023 | M129.980 / 984 / R 6 | 2496 | 150 / 110 | 954 |
| 280 SE Coupé | 11/67–5/71 | 111.024 | M130.980 / 984 / R 6 | 2778 | 160 / 118 | 3797 |
| 280 SE Cabriolet | 11/67–5/71 | 111.025 | M130.980 / 984 / R 6 | 2778 | 160 / 118 | 1390 |
| 280 SE 3.5 Coupé | 11/69–7/71 | 111.026 | M116.980 / 990 / V 8 | 3499 | 200 / 147 | 3270 |
| 280 SE 3.5 Cabriolet | 11/69–7/71 | 111.027 | M116.980 / 990 / V 8 | 3499 | 200 / 147 | 1232 |
Model timeline
| Chassis | Type | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | |||
| W111 | Sedan | 220 | |||||||||||||||
| 220S | |||||||||||||||||
| 220SE | |||||||||||||||||
| 230S | |||||||||||||||||
| Coupé Coupé A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time... & Cabriolet |
220SE | ||||||||||||||||
| 250SE | |||||||||||||||||
| 280SE | |||||||||||||||||
| 280SE 3.5 | |||||||||||||||||