W109 3.5L questions

[13B]

I think I read somewhere that if MB, later in the production run of a car, puts in a bigger engine than was available when the car was 1st released, rather than rename the car, they just added the revised engine capacity.  (Obviously this stops with the W126 otherwise we'd end up with cars with strange names like the 500SEL 5.6)

The W108 280SEL was released years before the M117 was ready to be installed, so when it was ready to market then just call it the 280SEL 4.5  I think this was a fairly consistent practice up to and including the W201 (190E 2.3 ?) but neatly explains the golden era of MB V8s.

[116Benz]

Same as the 350SL that was actually a 450SL in the U.S, smog laws killed the performance of the 3.5, so the 4.5 was federalised for the U.S market (no one outside the U.S market knew if this existance). How does this explain the existance of a 280SE 3.5 in the states as well? It was the end of that engine in the states, so rather than waste money, they put it in whatever they could (bar the 114's) and pull as much profit as they could (same with the 4.5) and provide as much choice for the customer.
For what its worth, from 71-72 the 280SE 4.5 (13527) and 280SEL 4.5 (8173), the 280SE 3.5 (11309)and 280SEL 3.5 (951) from 70-72 (total units sold) the 300SEL 4.5  (2553) from 71-72.

[bahnstormer109]

i felt guilty about neglecting my 109 so i took it out to carlovers and gave it a bath yesterday.

[John Hubertz]

I think I read somewhere that if MB, later in the production run of a car, puts in a bigger engine than was available when the car was 1st released, rather than rename the car, they just added the revised engine capacity.  (Obviously this stops with the W126 otherwise we'd end up with cars with strange names like the 500SEL 5.6)

PreCISEly my dear Watson.



The 108 was originally fitted with the legendary 2.8 twincam and thus was in all variants the 280SEL.

[116Benz]

I dunno JH, the M110 was in the new generation (114) before any of them, I thought the 108 had the SOHC 2.8, the V8's were the trial engines in them for the next series.

[John Hubertz]

Really?  When did the twin cam become the only 2.8?

[116Benz]

72 was when the 280 and 280E arrived, there was still the 108 with the single cam 6 at the same time. 73 was the official year of release for the W116. There would have been an overlap in production engine wise.