Autoblog’s free Readers’ Used Car Classifieds section is a great place to list your car for sale, and because these are readers they often list really interesting cars. Occasionally we find interesting listings in our what’s special about them. This 1975 Mercedes-Benz 280C was listed for sale at the time of this writing, but if the listing expires by the time you read this, feel free to browse for other great finds.
So far, we’ve only featured American cars in our Autoblog Classifieds Finds series. The first European car to make it in is a classic Mercedes-Benz coupé.
Our featured Paul Bracq –designed Benz is a 280C, meaning that the engine is the largest available for these cars, but it’s fitted with a Solex carburetor instead of the 280CE’s Bosch D-Jetronic electronic fuel injection, or einspritzung. That would give the M110 engine 160 horsepower, but the carbureted one has to do with 145. The automatic transmission here is a four-speed. While the car has a full-length center console – a Mercedes-Benz first – the automatic is still column-shift.
The bumpers are also unmistakable, as these coupés gained the big federal bumpers for 1974. 114-body Benzes only had to wear these for a couple years, as the 1969-introduced coupés were made until 1976. January 1976 saw the introduction of the successor generation W123, and coupé version came in October.
But for some, the 114/115 cars are the classiest Mercedes-Benz saloons and coupes. The styling is never outrageous, and in classic Mercedes-Benz style the front and the rear of the coupé match the saloon counterpart – just the pillarless hardtop stands out. If kept as tidy and free from dents as our example car, these cars will retain their cool for a long, long time. As long as the air conditioning functions.
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