W108 with an M117: ’73 Mercedes-Benz 280SEL 4.5

It is taking us a long time to get the Mercedes-Benz Model and Engine codes committed to memory. We think we will give up entirely and reserve the space in our collective brain for more important things. This rant was instigated by an absolutely wonderful, low-mileage, time-warp ’73 280SEL 4.5. It belonged to George Washington’s wife (not Martha), but sadly she passed and did not get to drive it much. George held on to it for sentimental reasons and made the mistake of offering it to George’s new wife. She refused to drive it because it “didn’t have air bags”. It probably had the ghost of wife #1 in it. What was George thinking? The Washington’s kept the Mercedes and exercised it occasionally. It has accumulated only 21,815 miles in almost 41 years. It looks sensational and could probably be made into a reliable runner with a few bits of modern technology. Namely electronic ignition. These were wonderful cars powered by a 4.5 liter M117 engine that could get the big Benz into triple diigs in a hurry. Not a 6.3 by any means but respectable and smooth. The build quality of this generation Mercedes is exceptional. The interior looks new. Well, everything looks new. The light blue color (code 917) with Navy leather (code 245) was very popular back then. The seller provided a lot of documents in the listing including a photo of the title stating it is a 1973. Unfortunately, they didn’t make 280SEL 4.5s in 1973. We don’t know if the dealer or factory “re-titled” it as a ’73  but it ain’t. As nice as this one is we doubt it will bring anything substantial. Maybe in the high teens. Certainly worth more but only to a Mercedes-Benz collector with a penchant for Preservation Class trophies. Click here for the listing.

Breaking News: During the wee hours of the morning Paul from the Northeast solved the model year mystery. Mercedes-Benz did in fact make a 280SEL 4.5 for model year 1973; I own one.  While there were very few, they were sold late September 1972 until January, when the 1973 450SE/SEL’s were introduced. There was even a different brochure produced for model year 1973 (white cover) opposed to 1972’s red cover.