Mercedes-Benz W116
Merecedes -Benz W116
The Mercedes -Benz 116 series is a luxury-class saloon of the then Daimler -Benz AG, which came on the market in September 1972.
With this series, the term " S-Class " was launched; Daimler -Benz itself provides for the predecessor W 108 / W 109 as the actual birth of the S-Class ( Illustrated Chronicle of Daimler -Benz AG, issued by the Corporate Archives ) The. designation W 116 denotes the sedan, the long version of "SEL" is referred to as V 116.
Successor in September 1979, the 126 series Some models in this series have been further built to September 1980.
Model history
Presentation and introduction
At launch, the variants 280 S, 280 SE and 350 SE were available. The new models represented a technological leap for Daimler -Benz. Numerous technical features were later used in other models of Daimler -Benz. Especially in 1975, published mid-size model 123 series was heavily influenced by the design of the new W 116. In charge of the development was technical director Hans Scherenberg.
In March 1973 came the big eight-cylinder, the 450 SE and 450 SEL; the "L " stands for the extended wheelbase. The top models 450 SE and SEL come with a starting balance; this is to prevent the sinking of the rear under hard acceleration. The "L- type" (SEL ) of the 350 SE was introduced in late 1973, the 280 SE in the spring of 1974. The 280 S was not offered with an extended wheelbase. As the original tires were the sizes 185 HR 14, 195/70 HR 14, 205/70 VR 14 and 215/70 VR 14 available.
The last W 116 - a 300 SD - rolled in September 1980 at the Sindelfingen plant from the tape. A total of 473 035 cars were produced of this series.
There are known several conversions of the S -Class sedan to station wagons. These modifications were made in England ( for example, when coachbuilders Crayford ) using tailgates and the framework of the Ford Granada.
Mercedes- Benz 450 SEL 6.9
In September 1975, the flagship 450 SEL 6.9 was presented with one of the engine M 100 of 600 Mercedes derived engine, the fuel injection system was replaced with an eight -plunger injection pump by the simpler Bosch K -Jetronic. The provided with a dry sump lubrication eight-cylinder " 6.9" ³ has a displacement of 6834 cm. Use the 210 kW ( 286 hp ) and the all-time high torque of a German passenger car motor of 549 Nm at 3000 rpm, the sedan reaches 225 km / h top speed and accelerates in 8.0 s to 100 km / h for optimum comfort without handling disadvantages of the "six nines " was equipped with a hydro- pneumatic similar to that of the great Citroën models.
In the four and a half year production period ran 7380 vehicles off the production line. In 1975, the base price of the top model of the V - Series 116 69 930 DM, which corresponds to taking inflation into account a today's purchasing power of about 91.762 euros.
300 SD (with diesel motor)
In May 1978, a diesel engine was introduced as the Model 300 SD in the S-Class for export, mainly to the U.S., with the engine OM 617 for the first time. The 300 SD is the world's first production car with a turbo diesel engine. This Mercedes his models could continue to export to the U.S., the 300 SD should help to reduce fleet consumption. This was necessary in order to comply with the provisions introduced by President Jimmy Carter. They state that the average consumption of all models in a manufacturer must not rise above a certain value.
Technology and Innovation
In terms of design and technology, some new products were introduced with the 116 series. The 96 - liter fuel tank was positioned over the rear axle, protected against collision, the four-spoke safety steering wheel was also a major innovation. 1978 W / V 116, the first car was the world in which a fully electronically controlled ABS was available.
Another technical innovation was the at the Experimental Vehicle Mercedes C 111 proven double-wishbone front suspension with steering roll radius 0 and anti-dive through entanglement of the handlebar levels. The multi-link rear axle of the C111 did not come in the W 116, however, to use, but the semi-trailing arm suspension with Mercedes -called diagonal swing axle. It corresponds essentially to the design, which was introduced by the " Stroke Eight " middle-class types in 1968. A triangular wishbone was firmly attached to the steering knuckle and stored with two rubber mounts on a diagonal line in the body; the outer bearing earlier than the inner.