Mercedes-Benz S-Class cabriolet revived

Unmistakeable, exclusive design, fine materials with maximum high-class appeal in the interior and state-of-the-art technology in the S-Class characterise the concept behind both cabriolets.

“After 44 years, we can again offer friends of our company an open variant of the S-Class. The new S-Class cabriolet symbolises our passion for individual and timelessly exclusive mobility, which we share with our customers,” remarks Ola Källenius, board member of Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz cars sales.

With the new S-Class cabriolet, Mercedes-Benz is setting itself the standard of building the most comfortable cabriolet in the world. When it comes to climate comfort, the enhanced automatic wind protection system Aircap, the Airscarf neck-level heating system, the seat heating also in the rear, plus the intelligent, fully automatic climate control ensure this is indeed the case.

The new cabriolet is carrying the long and successful tradition of Mercedes-Benz luxury-segment cabriolets into the future. Even back in the 1920s the luxury cabriolets from Stuttgart combined the freedom of open-top motoring with the comfort and safety of a Mercedes-Benz sedan. From the start of post-war production, the top models from Mercedes-Benz were also available in the particularly exclusive variant as a cabriolet. These included the 170 S (W 136) from 1949, the 220 (W 187) from 1951 and the 300 S (W 188) from 1952.

After the Ponton cabriolets 220 S (W 180) and 220 SE (W 128) built from 1956 to 1960, in 1961 the 220 SE cabriolet of the model series W 111 was launched – a particularly elegant, open-top four-seater, whose design is still considered timeless to this day.

In this 10-year production period, Mercedes-Benz offered five different models in these series: the 220 SE, 250 SE, 300 SE (W 112), 280 SE and, as a late top model, the eight-cylinder 280 SE 3.5 – in total 7 013 units of these five cabriolets were manufactured in Sindelfingen. For the time being, there was no open-top luxury-segment car in the Mercedes-Benz model range to follow this generation, rather it is the new SL from model series 107 which cultivated the tradition of open-top motoring in the Stuttgart brand’s cars as a two-seater.

The cabriolets from Mercedes-Benz are today among the most sought-after classic cars and the prices have developed accordingly. Examples of this are the cabriolets from model series 111, whose values are cited by the renowned American Hagerty Insurance’s price guide. In its estimation, a 280 SE 3.5 from the final year of construction, 1971, in condition 2 today has a value of around $290 000 – 10 years ago the figure was some $115 000 (R1.5 million). But that is by no means the pinnacle.