Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3 Pininfarina Coupe..
I actually saw this one on the road, long, long time ago, in the Netherlands.
Chassis remained unchanged, at 5 meters length.
Forgotten till now, this car blew my mind at the time. Could not believe it was a real Benz, and I was almost right.
Only 1 in existance, custom-ordered for 400.000 guilders, the equivalent of 10 units W116 6.9
Love it or hate it, but it sure is special.
This looks so much like the Rolls Royce Camargue
https://drive-my.com/en/test-drive/item/1769-mercedes-benz-300-sel-6-3-pininfarina-coupe.html
I'm happily joining the "hate it" club. What a monstrosity...
Yup money cannot buy taste unfortunately :'(
I'm trying to like this just because its a Mercedes but its as ugly as a bucket full of arseholes.
What I find interesting is that it looks like a W126 SEC, yet that didnt come for 2 more generations.
sort of looks like a BMW 2002 if the japanese designed it
This is what a Ssangyong/Mercedes SEC would look like.
i am moving to the dark side, the more i see it the more i like it, quite modern except for the wing mirror
might be a temporary thing
Haha!.. had not noticed the wing mirror yet..
The article says the owner fiddled with the headlights.. There were chrome panels in there? That would explain the oval lights in the square hole
Oh shit, I just threw up over the keyboard :-[
Guess that this was the subconscious picture when they did the rear during a hot Friday afternoon.
I'm probably one of the (very) few that like it! :D
I like a few cars that are a bit ugly to most .. ie the late 70s Maserati Quattroporte.
Would I go out of my way to order that instead of a normal 300SEL though? Nope.
http://www.coachbuild.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1004
I like the uniqueness of it, although it does feel very 70's American design with the squareness.
Rear half has a hint of 633CSI about it. Nothing harmonious about the front treatment, but all one offs have their lovers... witness the Docker Daimlers....
The problem I suspect is the nose does not quite carry the theme of the side and back, the nose needs more "horizontal" maybe it's the stacked lights.
Popped up at a car show in Germany..
i still love it
It reminds me of this monstrosity which was designed by Pininfarina (unfortunately):
(http://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/image.jpg)
I like that one more!
Things - especially designs and music - come back into fashion (as opposed to style) every so often. There was a time where people wouldn't be seen near a Camargue - now values and desirability are on the up. Often designers have a particular client in mind when doing one offs. Their designs, like some albums, art and even ideology - become once again popular with a new audience or viewed through a mature eye. I view it this way: most modern cars are the 'least offensive' design, made to appeal to the masses for mass consumption and therefore profit. Customs, one offs and design 'experiments' are by their very nature pure exercises, as opposed to exercises in purity. So their initial appeal is always narrow, to gauge opinion or to express new elements in design philosophy. Sometimes they are the mark of a new designer trying to break through. As a result they can be a polarising thing - either you love or loath. Anyway they are always interesting, talked about and critiqued by everyone who is ushered into their presence - and isn't that what design is about?