Beschreibung
The Vehicle
This example of the C140 is as good as it gets in my view. For a start it has the highly desirable 5-litre version of the M119 V8, a quad-cam four-valve per cylinder development of the W126’s M117. It’s considerably more powerful than the smaller 4. 2-litre version and a whole lot more reliable than that hastily developed V12 that the marketing men insisted on.
This one has done what, for this powerplant, is a running in mileage of just 124, 000 miles. (Much below average for a car of this age). These engines can happily cover five times that distance and still run sweetly, such is the quality of the engineering that went into them. In fact we’ve yet to hear of one ever wearing out.
There weren’t many options available on the C140 as it came with pretty much everything Mercedes could muster as standard, but this stunning example does have the rarely fitted electric rear window blind which works perfectly.
On top of that the car has had just four owners in its 26 year history and I had it for almost 4 years. It’s been well looked after and comes with service history, mix of Mercedes dealers or marque specialists.
It was built during the very last year of the 140’s production, so benefits from the constant model improvements the company consistently made during this period of its history, including the superior 5-speed automatic transmission which replaced the older 4-speed unit in 1995.
On the Outside
“Stunning”, “immaculate”, “superb” – all words that appear far to often in descriptions of cars but in this case they all apply. The silver paintwork is pretty much flawless (has undergone a respray 2 years ago) the only exceptions are some chips caused by shopping trolleys on passenger and driver doors and a small crack on the left bottom section of the front bumper.
The 140 series was the first Mercedes to incorporate soft closing of the doors – one simply nudges the door towards the closed position and the electrical assistance sucks it silently into place. Again, it’s something many high end cars have today, but it’s also yet another example of how far ahead of the game Mercs were with this model.
There is no delamination of the front screen, just a tiny bit on the rear, characterised by milky patches (seen in pictures). Unlike the earlier C126 coupés the C140 doesn’t rot out underneath the rear screen, so there are no worries here either.
The 18 inch alloy wheels are all shod with top quality tyres – yet another pointer to the way this C140 has been molly coddled. The wheels are excellent, save for a small, light scuff marks. An easy fix.
Underneath the vast bonnet the engine bay looks like it’s a couple of years old. Apart from some slight oil staining around the cam position sensors on the 5-litre V8’s cylinder heads, there’s very little evidence that it’s actually now into its 26th year.
On the Inside
If it’s possible to be electrically operated, then in the C140 it is. Even the rear head restraints can be folded out of the way at the push of a button. Sit down, gently pull the door, and as it closes itself the seat belt extender (gertbringer to our German friends) will glide forward and present you with your safety belt.
The electric rear window blind – something most examples of these cars came without, slides up and down smoothly and quickly.
The grey leather seats show only the very merest hint that anyone’s ever sat in them and that’s reflected throughout the beautiful interior (Worst being driver seat which will require some attention to make it perfect again). Even the boot looks freshly minted, complete with its Mercedes tool kit and a spare wheel and tyre combo that’s clearly never been called upon to do any work at all.
This CL 500 “drives like a new car”, and that everything works just as it should. Air con is ice cold (new radiator, new sensors etc).
Underneath
Most of the underside is still covered with the thick wax-based underseal that Mercedes used. There’s very mild surface corrosion on the exhaust system. It was professionally welded in 3 areas and there is nothing else to worry about. It has new shocks and springs on both sides and few other new parts installed. Generally speaking everything is in fine order under here – and the car has a MOT with no advisories.
History Highlights
The car comes with two keys, the original sales brochure, owner’s manuals and some service history detailing repair work carried out throughout its life – all of which has been done by Mercedes themselves, or dedicated Mercedes specialist workshops.
What I Think
A stunning, low mileage C140 pillarless coupé in the favourite spec, and in quite remarkable condition. I very much doubt you’ll find a better one at his price.
I may swap for an interesting car or a motorhome. Background
The story goes that Mercedes engineers used to build the best car they could, then tell the accounts department how much it had cost. At some point early this century this changed. Now the accounts department decide how much money they can spend, and the engineers build a car to that price. This equates to more profits, but inferior products. The C140 CL 500 therefore ranks as the last of the big S Class coupés built to the very highest of standards. In fact it’s arguably the best S Class coupé there ever was.
Introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1991, the third-generation S Class was penned by Olivier Boulay and Bruno Sacco, who claimed they’d been influenced by the Jag XJ40 and E32-generation BMW 7 Series. These competitors forced Mercedes to delay the W140 by roughly 18 months to give them time for an engine bay rework so the car could accommodate a V12 engine, like the Jag and the BMW. Did it need one? Well, not from an engineering standpoint, no.
This delay and the subsequent cost overruns resulted in the departure of chief engineer Wolfgang Peter, who was unhappy at the shift in emphasis from an engineer led development programme to one steered by the marketing department. Mercedes at the time was exploring both a W18 and a V16 engine, further explaining Peter’s frustration with the W140’s V12.
The final development prototypes were completed in June 1990, and those added costs meant the W140 had a considerably higher starting price compared with the preceding W126 S Class, gifting Toyota’s Lexus division a considerable price advantage with its LS competitor.
From 1991 through to 1998 W140 production totalled 432, 732, of which 26, 022 were coupés. Back when this generation was brand-spanking new, Mercedes offered a total of five powerplants, the best, in my view being the 5-litre V8.
The C140 came fully loaded with creature comforts and driver aids, including double glazed windows, speed-sensitive steering, guide rods that extended from the rear corners of the boot lid to provide the driver with a guideline for rear parking manoeuvres, heated wiper fluid, rain-sensing wipers, an auto-dimming driver’s side mirror and soft-closing doors. This generation of the S Class was also the first production vehicle to feature a CAN-based multiplex wiring system, something that modern car buyers take for granted.
The C140 coupé and its saloon counterpart was replaced in 1998 by the W220 series, which is a Mercedes designed by a team led by bean counters rather than engineers.
