Chassis 116036 12 005480
Motor 100985 12 005525
Aufbau 01530

In company ownership since the very beginning
Original 75,100 kms on the clock
Matching Numbers

The new S-Class was intended to be Friedrich Geiger’s final masterpiece at the start of the 1970s, with passive safety and optimum comfort at the very top of the wish list. To cover the safety aspects, the company had Béla Barényi, the grandmaster in this domain. Nobody had mastered the art of crumple zones and cold forming like Barényi, who was born in Austria to a Hungarian family.

In terms of style, the SL and SLC, unveiled in 1971, offered inspiration, with the existing selection of engines also providing stimulus for what went under the hood. The outcome was revolutionary, so much so that it was the first time, and the only time to date, that a luxury car was crowned “Car of the Year”.

The ultimate S-Class, or, as the magazine „auto, motor und sport“ put it, the best car in the world, was revealed in May 1975. The sheer power of the M100 engine taken from the 600 and 6.3 had been given a radical overhaul and was implanted into the new S-Class. A Bosch K-Jetronic, dry sump lubrication and cylinder capacity expanded to 6.834 ccm meant that even the sportiest of competitors were rattled and began to sweat. 286 horsepower with a maximum torque of 550 Nm and a minimum of 490 Nm took it well over a top speed of 200. And it did this in a completely unassuming manner: only the lettering stating “6.9” and the wider tyres gave away this king of the road.

A hydro-pneumatic system with automatic height regulation replaced the capricious air suspension, ensuring appropriate road handling. Citoren had guided the way. There were no add-ons that could not be added-on, although they could shoot the price up into the stratosphere. It was easy to break the 100,000 barrier, as already the base figure of DM 70,000 was twice as much as the next-best model. 7,380 customers purchased the Uber-Mercedes in the five years until the next S-Class saw it off.

The 6.9 was a demonstration piece, used to show the world what was technically possible if you simply wanted it – and were able to do it. It was unrivalled, and a legend in its own time. It remains so today: the best car in the world.

The 450 SEL 6.9 in the Wiesenthal collection originally served the company as an executive car. It was kitted out accordingly, featuring an electric sun roof, an Webasto heater, a Becker radio with automatic antenna, and even light-alloy wheels. It goes without saying that air conditioning and all kinds of electric gadgets for the seats and the windows were already standard features on the grand 6.9. The dark-blue non-metallic paint covering the outside, paired with the parchment-coloured standard velours upholstery, ensured that the car made an elegant, yet understated impression.

The 6.9 was registered to Wiesenthal on 15 March 1979. Its number plate was just as exclusive as the car itself: W-119. While the car had handed on the number plate by the mid-1980s, it kept its status as the company’s top vehicle until it was followed by the 560 SEL at the end of 1989. It had barely 60,000 kilometres on the clock when it joined the gullwing and others in its retirement. Records were kept in minute detail from the mid-1980s onwards, listing every issue and how these were resolved. Of course, the service book is complete, its maintenance second-to-none. As a result, 15,000 km later, the car is still in nearly flawless shape today. Nowadays, this 450 SEL 6.9 may well be one of the best examples of a car that was once the best in the world!