Mercedes-Benz W108/W109
The Mercedes-Benz W 108 and W 109 are luxury cars produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1965 through to 1972 to succeed the W 111 and W 112 "fintail" sedans. The cars were successful in West Germany and in export markets including North America and Southeast Asia. During the seven-year run, a total of 383,072 units were manufactured. Some publications mention 383,361 units.
As the W 108 and W 109 were only available as 4-door models, similarly squarish Bracq-designed 2-door W 111 and W 112 coupés and cabriolets filled those niches, and are often mistaken for W 108/W 109 two-doors.
Model history
Chassis (platform)
The car's predecessors, the W 111 and W 112, helped Mercedes-Benz develop better sales and achieve economy of scale production, reducing both manufacture time and cost. Throughout the 1950s, Mercedes-Benz had been producing the coachwork 300 S and 300 SL and all but hand-built 300 "Adenauer" (W 189) alongside conveyor assembled Pontons etc. Unifying the entire Mercedes-Benz range into the "fintail" reduced production onto a single automobile platform.Body design
Fashion trends in the early 1960s changed rapidly. By the time the Paul Bracq-designed 2-door coupé and cabriolet W 111 were launched, the predecessor W 111 sedan's fins lost their chrome trim and sharp appearance. The arrival of the W 113 'Pagoda' coupé and cabriolet in 1963 saw them further buried into the trunk's contour. Finally, they disappeared completely on the 600 (W 100) in 1963.The evolution of the W 108 began under the leadership of Bracq in 1961 and ended in 1963. Although the fins' departure was the most visible change, the W 108 had a lower body waist line and increased glass area – the windscreen alone was 17% larger than W 111's – prominent enough to be referred to as a "greenhouse". The cars had a 60 mm lower ride and 15 mm wider doors. The result was a visibly newer-looking, sleeker car with an open and spacious interior.
Differences between W 108 and W 109
Originally, the W 108 was seen as a combined successor to the W 111 and the short wheelbase sedans in the W 112 line lacking air suspension.The W 111 had been a successor to the six-cylinder Ponton models of the mid 1950s; the W 112 derived from it was a stopgap to replace the hand-built body-on-frame 300 "Adenauer" (W 189) state car. In addition to being lavishly decorated with additional chrome trim, the W 112 inherited the alloy block M 189 engine of the W 189, and featured a self-levelling air suspension. A long-wheelbase version was offered from March 1963 through July 1965.
This introduction of two lines emerged the W 108 and W 109 models, with the dividing line running between luxury, performance and air suspension. Thus that expensive feature was kept on the long wheelbase W 109 300 SEL, while models from the 300 SEb down retained their steel coil springs and oil-filled shock absorbers.
1965: 250 and 300 series
The initial 1965 product line was the W 108 series' 250 S, 250 SE, and 300 SEb, and only the 300 SEL produced as a W 109. As before, the 300 series were more luxuriously appointed than the 250 series, featuring burled walnut dashboards and power windows along with optional automatic transmission and air conditioning. The W 109 also featured door window frames and a-pillars fully finished with polished metal bright trim.1968: 280 and 300 series
In 1968 Mercedes-Benz retired the M189 engine in favor of the new 2.8L M130. As a result, the long wheelbase W108 280 SEL and W109 300 SEL also ended up sharing the 2.8L engine through the end of production in 1972. Similarly, the M116 V8 powered W108 280 SE/SEL 3.5 and W109 300 SEL 3.5, and the M117 V8 powered W108 280 SE/SEL 4.5 and W109 300 SEL 4.5, shared wheelbases and engines through the end of production in 1972.Mercedes-Benz refused to name these models 350 SEL and 450 SEL to avoid upsetting the release of the W116 S-Class.
First Series (1965–1967)
Market introduction
The W 108/W 109 premiered at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 1965. The initial model range consisted of three W 108s and a sole W 109. The inline-six engines were carried over from the previous generation with mechanical refinements. The 2.2 L M 180 engine was enlarged to 2.5 L while the fuel-injected 3.0 L M 189 version was carried over from 300 "Adenauer".250 series
The 250 S was fitted with M 108 engine with 2 compound downdraft carburetors producing at 5,400/min. The 250 SE had the same engine as 250 S except for fuel injection system and different engine designation (M 129) with increased engine output of at 5,500/min.300 series
Both 300 SEb and 300 SEL were fitted with M 189 engine. The engine was an updated version of M 186, originally developed in 1951 for the 300 "Adenauer", with Bosch 6-point mechanical fuel injection system that calibrated the optimal fuel mixture automatically based on throttle pedal position and movement, engine speed, atmospheric pressure, water temperature, and driving conditions. The engine's output was at 5,400/min.Production figures
The production figures for the first series from 1965 to 1967 showed 129,858 of 250 S/250 SE and 5,106 of 300 SEb/300 SEL. The tiny production figure of 300 SEb/300 SEL reflected the higher sales price with luxurious appointments, exclusivity, and smaller global market share.300 SEL 6.3
In 1966, company engineer Erich Waxenberger transplanted a massive M 100 V8 from the company's flagship 600 (W 100) with at moderate 4,000/min and at 2,800/min for superior power delivery into a W 109 chassis, creating the first Q-car from Mercedes-Benz. Full-scale production of 300 SEL 6.3 began in December 1967. 300 SEL 6.3 could reach in 6.5 seconds and the top speed of, making it the quickest production sedan, a title it held for many years.Second Series (1967–1972)
Market introduction
To coincide with the launch of new cheaper executive, W 114/W 115 "/8" (Stroke Eight); ) models, slotted below MB's W 108 and W 109, the inline six engine range was revised in 1967. The 2.5 L engine was enlarged to and renamed as M 130 for both carburetted at 5,200/min and fuel injected at 5,500/min versions.2.8 L I6 models
250 S and 250 SE were renamed as 280 S and 280 SE in November 1967 while 250 S was still offered in some export markets until March 1969. In January 1968, a long wheelbase variation, 280 SEL, was introduced for the first time.The standard wheelbase 300 SEb was dropped while 300 SEL 2.8 obtained the 2.8 L engine with higher output at 5,750/min, replacing the M189 engine.