1985 Mercedes-Benz 500SEC Coupe

Description

Mercedes-Benz entered the 1980s as the dominant player in the luxury car market, unchallenged by rivals like BMW and Audi. The new W126 S-class amply demonstrated this superiority; as Stuttgart's flagship for a new decade, the car was packed with technical innovation, engineering and luxury features. Developed over a ten year period, the W126 range saw improvements in the key areas of engine design, aerodynamics and weight reduction to deliver big reductions in fuel consumption whilst retaining the solid engineering found in the outgoing W116. The new S-class was launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1979 and the model range initially consisted of six-cylinder and V8 sedans on two wheelbase lengths. In a first for the S-Class, the sedan was joined a two-door, four-seater coupe model known as the SEC on a shorter wheelbase platform that was largely unchanged from the four-door cars. Mercedes-Benz did alter the steering ratio to give a more sporting feel and upgraded the brakes in keeping with the more performance-oriented nature of the SECs and it was only sold in V8 guise, either as a 380 or 500, with the four-speed automatic transmission the sole gearbox available. Thanks to the design team headed by Bruno Sacco, the SEC enjoyed elegant styling that continued Mercedes-Benz' tradition of offering a pillarless coupé, which gave rise to a novel retracting arm for the seatbelts for front seat passengers. The 500 SEC was luxuriously equipped inside, with central locking, electric windows and sophisticated air conditioning system all standard. Despite the huge price, the SEC was always in strong demand with long waiting lists and outsold rivals like the 6-series BMW and XJ-S Jaguar and the 500 SEC model was sold right through until 1991, having undergone revisions in 1985.