Mercedes S-Class models W116 (1972)

In 1973, Mercedes-Benz introduced the Mercedes W116 line, the first to be officially called the S-Class. Produced from 1972 through 1979, the Mercedes W116 series featured a four-wheel independent suspension and disc brakes. The Mercedes 280, 350, and 450 (4.5L version) models featured SE and SEL versions. Production of the Mercedes W116 totaled 473,035 units. This was a groundbreaking sedan for Mercedes-Benz, and for the first time in the company history, the car had an obvious, blatant and outward emphasis on safety placed above a pure styling viewpoint. The overall design incorporated numerous safety features developed from the "safety research vehicles" in the mid-to-late 1960s to the very early 1970s.

These safety features were all newly-introduced passenger-car "firsts" on a production vehicle: padded door trim around the windows, heavily padded steering wheel (later to be replaced by an airbag with the Mercedes-Benz abbreviation of SRS standing for the English-language term Supplemental Restraint System), more comprehensive safety padding on the dashboard and around the interior, dual asymmetric windshield wipers, headrests with a center depression to locate the occupant's head in a more central position during a rear impact, a rain-water management system to improve visibility consisting of deep channels on both sides of the windshield and flowing into deeply channeled rain gutters, including similar designs on the side mirrors, rounded body shapes along the edges, such as the tops of the front fenders, etc., designed to ameliorate pedestrian injuries, ribbed rear taillamp lenses which would remain clearer of dirt on the recessed areas, an easy-to-access first aid kit stowed in a recessed compartment on the rear parcel shelf prominently labeled with the universally-recognized "cross" symbol which represents "first aid", and several other subtle safety features related to both active and passive safety.

The Mercedes W116 models were large luxury sedans. The Mercedes W116 was larger on the outside than the Mercedes W108/W109 series it replaced, but had similar interior capacity, as the additional bulk was driven by several new and aforementioned engineering developments on car safety and occupant protection in a crash. The Mercedes W116 introduced other improved passive safety features into the vehicle design, including a strengthened vehicle occupant shell. It was one of the first cars to be available with ABS, a driver's airbag supplemental restraint system (but not available at the vehicle's initial launch), and the first appearance of a turbocharger for the diesel engine.

The Mercedes 450SE, then the most powerful model in the Mercedes W116 lineup, was awarded European Car of the Year in 1974. At the New England Auto Show in 1972 held in the fall season in Boston, the Munroney Label (window sticker) of a 1973 Mercedes 450SE was right at $13,000. 1973 was the first model year of the Mercedes W116 for the US market. Starting in 1975, the Mercedes W116 was upgraded with a new fuel injection system in order to comply with revised exhaust emission standards in European markets. A slight power reduction was a result of this update, but in 1978, a series of further engine upgrades restored original performance levels under the new fuel injection systems.

Engines

With the Mercedes W116 models, the V8-engines of the Mercedes 350/450 SE/SEL models were now regular options. Due to the oil crisis, fuel efficiency was the major concern for the engineers, yet they still added also the high-performance, limited-production 450 SEL 6.9. This 8-cylinder model, affectionately referred to as simply "the 6.9", boasted the largest engine installed in a postwar Mercedes-Benz up to that time. Every 450 SEL 6.9 featured a self-leveling hydropneumatic suspension, and offered the ABS anti-lock braking system as an option from 1978 onwards. Also, in the United States and Canada only, Mercedes-Benz introduced the economical but powerful 3.0 liter 5-cylinder turbodiesel in 1978, sold as the Mercedes 300SD.

Mercedes W108 (1965)

With Mercedes "Fintails" being passé and dropped in favor of a look similar to the Mercedes 600, the updated and larger Mercedes W108/W109 lines were introduced in 1965. With the Mercedes W108/W109 series, the range received V8 power for the first time (from 1969). The Mercedes W108 line launched with an initial lineup of straight-6 powered models using the M129, 2.5 liter engine. The unusual high-displacement 300 SEL 6.3 V8 model was based on this body type. The Mercedes W108 line, which included the Mercedes 250S, 250SE, 280S 280SE and 280SEL (long wheelbase) models, was larger than the Fintail models it replaced, and also eliminated the characteristic design feature of the previous model.

During this period, the designation S or SE was used for short wheelbase models including Mercedes 250S, 250SE, 280S, 280SE and 300SE. The "E" stands for the German word "Einspritzen" which was a reference to the vehicle being equipped with fuel injection for the engine. Vehicles without the E designation as part of the model number or nomenclature retained the carburetor setup. Long wheelbase models (extended by 4 inches in the rear doors) were designated SEL (L= lang or long). Since the advent of the Mercedes W108 series, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class has always included two wheelbase lengths, although not all wheelbases are sold in every country. The Mercedes 300 SE and Mercedes 300 SEL models were classified as Mercedes W109 chassis and had rear air suspension compared to coil spring based rear suspension of Mercedes W108 models. The more powerful Mercedes 300SE and Mercedes 300SEL models were the most luxurious versions of the Mercedes W108 line, with available burl walnut interior trim, automatic transmission, and power windows.

In 1968, the Mercedes W108 line dropped the Mercedes 250S and Mercedes 250SE in favor of Mercedes S-Class models with the larger engined 280S (in carbureted form) and the 280SE (with fuel injection); the 300SE/SEL models were later offered with a 3.5 litre V8 engine (in both the SE and SEL form) and 4.5 litre and 6.3 litre V8 engines (in the SEL model only). The W108/109 lines, which eventually supplanted the W111 lines, were not available with 4-cylinder engines, and thus established the distinct S-Class market position which continues to the present day.

Mercedes Fintail (1959)

The Mercedes W111 "Fintail" series debuted in 1959. Initially powered by a line of straight-6 engines (the M180 and M127), it set a new standard for luxury. In 1961, the W111 series was augmented with a line of 3.0 L straight-6 cars, the Mercedes W112. The Mercedes W112 was the most luxurious model in the Mercedes-Benz lineup until surpassed by the Mercedes W100 line's model 600 limousines in 1963. The Mercedes W111/W112 lines contained sedan, coupe, and convertible Mercedes models.

The Fintail was among the first cars in the world to have crumple zones and disc brakes, and for the top of range Mercedes W112 models, an air suspension. The characteristic name referred to a styling feature on the rear section of the Mercedes W111/W112 models, the Heckflosse ("Fintail") which resembled the larger fins then in fashion on American luxury cars produced by Cadillac and Buick.

The Mercedes W112 300SE sedan, as "300 SE long" with a 10 cm longer wheelbase, was for the short period the top model of Mercedes, succeeding the baroque "Großer Mercedes" ("Grand Mercedes") 300, 300b, 300c, and 300d, which were often associated with chancellor Konrad Adenauer. Since the debut of the Mercedes W111 300SEL, each iteration of the Mercedes S-Class has included short and long wheelbase models, with the latter models (such as the W109) typically being the most luxurious, powerful, and well-equipped. In 1965, the Mercedes W111 line also added the Mercedes 230S sedan.

The larger Mercedes W111/W112 Fintail models should not be confused with a smaller Fintail line, the Mercedes W110, which was also produced in 1961 (derived from the W111 line) and was essentially the predecessor of today's Mercedes E-Class. The Mercedes W110 featured a shorter hood for the "economy" models 190c and 190Dc. The different six-cylinder "S"-versions of the Mercedes W111 mainly differed from the smaller 4-cylinder Mercedes W110 variants by a different length of the front, and the amount of chrome applied.

Mercedes Ponton (1954)

The Mercedes W180 line debuted in 1954, and is the first lineup of "Ponton" models associated with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. The Mercedes W180 featured six-cylinder sedan, coupé, and convertible models, and was produced until 1957. The later Mercedes W128 lineup, introduced in the mid-to-late 1950s, was the last to be associated with the "Ponton" name. It featured the 220a, 219 (W105), 220S, and 220SE models (sedan, coupé, and cabriolet) powered by a 2.2L straight-6, and came to ten. The Mercedes "Ponton" designation referred to pontoon fenders, a stylistic feature on the W180/W128 models.

The "Ponton" lineup included four- and six-cylinder models, but only the six-cylinder Mercedes W180 and W128 lines are considered part of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class chronology, as they were the most powerful "Ponton" versions available. Both "Ponton" models were Mercedes' first without a conventional frame, using a unitized body/frame construction.

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