Dark Red over Bamboo leather · matching numbers · comprehensively restored, around 1,000 km since
Dark Red over Bamboo leather · matching numbers · comprehensively restored, around 1,000 km since
Highlights
One of 1,390 280 SE 2.8 Cabriolets built
Comprehensive restoration by a German Mercedes specialist, completed 2017
Matching numbers, original Mercedes data card
Original colour combination: DB 542 Dark Red with Bamboo leather and black soft top
Recent detailed condition report by an independent Austrian classic car expert, available on request
This car
This 280 SE Cabriolet left Sindelfingen in autumn 1968 as a US-market car, finished in Dark Red (DB 542) with Bamboo leather, brown carpets and a black soft top, all confirmed by the original data card. It has power steering and a floor-shift automatic, and it is still in its factory colour combination today.
From 1992 to 2014 it spent 22 years with one owner in Florida. It then came to Europe through a Dutch classic car specialist and was bought by a German Mercedes dealer, who carried out a comprehensive restoration covering bodywork, paint, mechanics, electrics and interior. In 2017 the car passed the strict German inspection for historic-vehicle registration. As part of that approval, the headlamps were converted to European specification.
Since the restoration it has covered only around 1,000 km. The odometer reads 17,152. The total mileage is unknown, which matters little given the comprehensive restoration, including a full engine rebuild.
What will be done before delivery
I have inspected and test-driven the car myself. Having restored classic Mercedes in my own workshop, including a factory-condition 190 SL, I can say the restoration is of a high standard. Like any car that has been used very little, it needs recommissioning. Before handover, the following work will be carried out by a specialist:
Engine inspection and tuning (injection pump, ignition, valves)
Full engine service (oil, filters, spark plugs)
Brake system recommissioning
Soft top frame adjustment: the hood opens and closes, but does not yet fold fully into its well, so the tonneau cover cannot be fitted. This is a matter of adjustment, which I prefer to leave to a specialist rather than force a freshly restored top.
Paint detailing (deep cleaning, polishing, sealing)
The new owner receives a car that is sorted and ready to be driven and optically like fresh out of a restoration.
Why I took this car on
In the late 1960s, very little could match a W111 Cabriolet for elegance, quality and comfort for four people, with the Rolls-Royce Corniche as one of the few exceptions. I have sold a fine Corniche, and in my view the 280 SE is the better car in almost every respect: better engineered, better balanced to drive, and every bit as elegant. It was a favourite of film stars and industrialists, and it still has that understated class today.
The model
The W111 Cabriolet was introduced in 1961 as a full four-seater, with a body that shared no structural parts with the saloon. In January 1968 the new 2.8-litre six-cylinder with 160 hp replaced the 250 SE. Later in 1969 the 280 SE 3.5 V8 joined the range, and production of the W111 Cabriolets ended in 1971. Mercedes built no successor; open-top Mercedes buyers had to make do with the two-seater SL.
Inspection and test drive by appointment. The car is located near Vienna, Austria. For more details, more photos or the documentation, please get in touch.
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