1992 Mercedes-Benz 300SE Saloon

The Mercedes-Benz W140 is a series of flagship vehicles that were manufactured by the German automotive company from 1991 to 1998. The W140 made its public debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1991, with the first examples rolling off the production line a month later. Short (SE) and long (SEL) wheelbase sedans were offered initially, as well as the coupé (SEC=S-Klasse-Einspritzmotor [Fuel injection engine]-Coupé) body style C140 from October 1992. As with its predecessor, the W140 was the first of the "next generation" of Mercedes-Benz models to feature the company's new design theme. This design was adopted for the new C-Class in 1989 and during 1991 for use on the facelifted W124 in 1993. Like all Mercedes-Benz lines, the W140 S-Class was rationalized in late 1993 using the new "letter-first" nomenclature. The SE, SEL, and SEC cars were renamed the S-Class, with alphanumerical designations inverted. In 1996 the coupé models (following a mid-life update) were separated into the CL-Class. The W140 introduced innovations such as double-pane window glazing, power-assisted closing for doors and trunk lid, electric windows which lowered back down when obstructed, rear-parking wands that rose from the rear wings (discontinued on later vehicles and replaced with sonar-assisted parking) and a heating system which, if desired, continued to emit warm air after the engine was turned off. Because of details like this, the W140 is often known as the last Mercedes to be "over-engineered." The W140 series S-Class was superseded by the W220 S-Class sedan and C215 CL-Class coupe in 1999 after an eight-year production run. Mercedes-Benz built 432,732 examples of the 140 series, comprising 406,710 sedans and 26,022 coupés.