Mercedes 450 SEL 6.9 Review | Why it redefined the luxury car
Vložit
- čas přidán 9. 01. 2021
- #Mercedes #450SEL #CarReviews
The Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9 was the luxury car to have in the 70s. Boasting 6.8-litres of rumbling V8 goodness and the pillowy soft yet surprisingly agile hydropneumatics suspension, it was the pinnacle of opulence and comfort. Watch our video to find out why it’s still relevant today.
Want to stay up to date with CAR's videos? Subscribe here:
czcams.com/users/CARmagaz...
Get the latest reviews and news from CAR magazine here:
www.carmagazine.co.uk/
Follow us at:
Twitter: @CARmagazine
Instagram: carmagazine
Facebook: CAR Magazine
@JDennisonCars
CAR is the online edition of CAR magazine, Britain's oldest monthly motoring mag. It's the UK's best and fastest online motoring news service, providing a constant stream of scoops, first drives and official pictures of new cars. - Auta a dopravní prostředky
So, what's your favourite luxury car of all time?
1964-1981 - 600 Grosser and 1968-1972 - 300SEL 6.3, both ahead of your 450 SEL 6.9. All using the M100 engine MB's first V8 car petrol engine. Check out the metrics at the time. It was from the future ... Please, should you have the opportunity, take the W100 600 Grosser and W109 300SEL 6.3 for a drive. As an induction to the latter see ...
300 SEL 6.3 Leno - czcams.com/video/Ct-KlbvGXgo/video.html
300 SEL 6.3 Tyrrell - czcams.com/video/vMxXmkpKWY4/video.html
Does the new RS6 Avant count? ;) I am a sucker for station wagons and will always pick that up before any luxury limo or SUV.
@4g5y Most definitely 😉
E38 SWB 740i Sport
Original Lexus LS400.
My Dad bought one of these in the 1980s in New Mexico and he would laugh when the police lit him up from oncoming traffic. Living in the mountains back then, it was an amazing car on curvy mountain roads, and the police lights would quickly fade in the distance behind us.. He had some great ones, hustling LA cars towards Texas, but this was the best.. I had an 85' 500 SEL, which was phenomenal, soon after, and today have an 85' 500SEC in great shape as well as a 94' 500E in bad shape. Many miles in these three vehicles had me believing that if there was no Lexus implosion in Stuttgart, they would today be making astounding vehicles (parts sharing knockoffs from Toyota, Nissan, and Honda, Lexus, Infiniti, and Acura caused the '3 new cars every ten years' model to become '10 new cars every 3 years' to stave off parasitic engineering and design theft, ie, let Merc spend 100 million on.. advanced cruise control, for example, while Toyota spends the same on advertising the same stolen system a year later.. bad return on innovation investment, and now Koreans do the same with Kia and Hyundai, so... grey goo cars, none particularly impressive.. all are competent.. but no more advancements, and now China uses this method to reduce every made thing down to unimpressive disposable junk.. boycott this process when possible!
Great story about your dad’s 6.9 in New Mexico!
I bought one of these. In 1988 , mine is a 1979 model same colour paint.
The size of the engine and the type of suspension really impressed me.
I live in Sydney Australia and I still own my 6.9 and drive regularly.
In Australia in the seventies the GT Falcon was the holy grail of power
My 6.9 would out run them from a standing start as it did not burn rubber
Just squatted down an took off and you could drive it round corners unlike
The falcon it needed straight roads .
Enough said 👍
How many miles have you got on it?
My father had a 350SEL version of one of these, built like tanks too. Amazing amazing car.
My 5th grade school teacher had 1 back in 1995 she took us out to eat at McDonald's 1 day and the only thing i can remember about it was it had real comfortable seats and the AC was freezing cold 🥶 and it was really fast too. I still remember the 6.9 in the back !
Just thinking about the 1998 movie Ronin when I see this car.
And Lost Highway 1997 😊
It's the favourite car of the director John Frankenheimer. They didn't use His own car for the film because he didn't want to thrash his own car. They bought one especially for the film they could drive the shit out of...
A revolutionary car then and to my mind set the “Benchmark” for what they all now say me too !!!
Truly the best mass produced luxury car ever built by a workforce that cared about their reputation.
As the man said himself “ The Best or nothing” !!!
I used to own this car.6.9..in 1983..but I took the Stockton rims and had them dipped in chrome..it was badass beautiful..the color was Rootbeer brown..it could do 0-60..in 6..seconds..but that ain't nothing now..I'm girl..but I've always been into cats
.my mama raised me rite..I had 2..Buick Rivieras.. a 72..Monte Carlo...and 73.. Cadillac El dorado...I'm old now
.got grandkids..so I drive a Toyota..Corolla...lol..but I go to alot of badass car shows..ty..I've been blessed with great cars from my past..my younger..days..I live on my memories now..I'm ok..I'm happy...but sure would enjoy having my own Show Car again..Guyz would always trip out on me having nice wheels..they ask me is that your husband's car u driven ..and I snap back...NO...it's mine..I ain't got no hubby..lol..don't need one to have a bad ass ride...lol..lol..ladies...ttyl..a Fan .
W116 when Mercedes really did try to build the best car in the world ♥️
R 107 with 901 paint code and pure Mercedes style and Quality. I will never part with my perfect Benz!
w123 were the best imo
Indeed !
There is also the unique 'steering wheel feel' about the W116 series, which is impossible to describe, but to drive one. I had a standard 450SEL and that car could pull strongly and the Bosch K jetronic system was so good that it brought the same fuel consumption figures as a Honda Quintet (with 1600cc engine). And for the DIY owner repairing them was so much fun, everything was straightforward and work out well. No unecessary complications, even the new parts and the pakaging lifted ones soul with their 3 point star or some none OEM part made in Italy or Belgium etc. all were good, we had quality then. Not only that, the parts man at the MB dealership would use a microfische to quickly sort your order out. The W116 was also the last of the chrome bumper Mercedes Benz cars.
My first car was a 280se 116 in 94. Only lasted a few months but I had soo much fun with it while it lasted
Great review. I daily drive a W116 turbo diesel in Los Angeles. It's nowhere near as fast as a 6.9 but it has the same luxurious comfort and tank-like build quality discussed in the video. These cars were made to impress.
we have a 6.6 at home from new , she is a gem .Thanks dad
The funky, groovy music of the opening, coupled with the image of the Merc taking curves at speed deserves a thumbs up!
Great video! I've never owned a 6.9, but did get to drive one extensively. It would burn rubber (/70 of course) from a standing start with four people on board. The legendary Brock Yates put it through its paces and was impressed. Enough said: a legend.
Thanks very much! Glad you enjoyed the video.
"At the old SMMT Test Day at Silverstone in 1975 or 1976, Mercedes brought a LHD 6.9 with Fangio to drive it," recalls Nichols. "LJKS and I jumped in with him. Leonard sat in the front with Juan Manuel, I was in he back right side and someone else I can't remember in the left rear seat.
"Fangio took us around the Grand Prix circuit flat out, beautifully smoothly and uneventfully. We didn't appreciate quite how fast we were going until, approaching the old, fearsome, mega-fast Woodcote corner Fangio pulled to the left to overtake a racing Pantera that was being shaken down. It was flat out, on the racing line. Its driver was working away at the wheel as it twitched and hopped around through the corner.
"Fangio, driving with one hand, making just tiny movements at the wheel and talking to Leonard all the while, slipped up alongside the Pantera and eased past him. I looked out the side window and grinned at the Pantera driver as we were alongside, just a couple of feet away. I'll never forget the stunned look on his face as he realised he was being overtaken, in the middle of one of racing's most challenging corners, by a Mercedes saloon with four people on board. It was too much for him. He backed off and just trundled around slowly until we did a couple more laps and pulled off the circuit. I wonder if he ever knew it was Fangio behind the 6.9's wheel.
The W116 has to be one of the most handsome Mercedes-Benz cars ever made.
And designed by engineers, not accountants.
A fair review that gave respect to the history of the car. The whole reason to drive old cars is because they are different to new ones.
I had one of these back in the days - it was light blue metallic with a tobacco color (my best recollection of the color) leather interior. If my memory serves me correct - it was somewhere double the price of a 450 SEL. Wish I still had it. Have a safe and nice day all. CHEERS from AUSTRALIA.
Thank you for doing a modern review on my favorite retro car. Love ❤️ this car. Can’t ever find one to buy in the USA.
What a fabulous review.
Thanks very much. Glad you enjoyed! Don’t forget to subscribe and turn on notifications for more. 👌👌
My father had one of these. Awesome car - he had one of what was a relatively small number of RHD versions with leather seats.
I still remember a long trip to Normandy on holiday that ended up with Dad having to raise the suspension to get down the track to the farmhouse we were renting!
As a child it seemed hugely fast. I note that my Mercedes E400d would leave it standing now and return 45mpg instead of 12!
A much more exciting and attractive car than the modern S Class. The hydropneumatic suspension was really clever. I wonder where they got the idea for that (cough...Citroen...cough).
Incidentally, its not as ground-breaking as you make out. Mercedes had done nearly the same thing a few years before with the Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3, from 1968 to 1972. It would do 0 to 60 in 6.5 seconds and topped out at 137 mph, from a 247 Bhp V8.
My audi tt 225bhp is only .1 seconds faster to 60
RCR said it best, "It doesn't accelerate... it advances."
What a beautiful old square rigger, proper early Q car, love the smoking exhaust under hard cornering! Great video more of the same please.
Glad you enjoyed! Don’t forget to subscribe and turn the notifications on 😊
the most impressive thing about this car is how quiet it is at 140 mph!
This is one of the best limos ever built. The 6.9lt was an impressive capacity and the tech involved in suspension even more, back in the '70s! Rust is a great killer of these tanks. You can rarely find them in good condition today. Maintenance cost is immense! I hope the few remaining owners preserve them well.
Thanx for this amazing video! To be very very honest here, well... I will take one immediately!!
I recently drove a W123 300D and realised these old Mercedes’ aren’t nearly as bad as people make them out to be, now I need one of these
Who makes them out to be bad? I hear nothing but praise about the old Mercedes
Great review of a legendary car...
Probably the most comfortable car I've ever driven
The 300 SEL 6.3 from 1968 was the first performance limousine from Daimler, this magnificent car was the successor. The suspension came from Citroën and was improved by Mercedes.
Mercedes had this suspension before Citroën, it came from the 600 Pullman, were even the windows are lifted with pneumatics.
@@Rick2010100 Wrong! The first Citroën with full hydropneumatic suspension was the DS, released in 1955. Its predecessor, the Traction Avant, had hydro at the rear on the 'H' version. The first Benz with hydro was the W116 6.9, launched in ’74. (The W100 Grosser, launched in ’63, and the W109 300 SEL, launched in ’65, had pneumatic suspension but no hydro.)
Mid 1980 at my first job with a Mercedes dealer……. these were king of the hill 🙂
Cracking review…… 🇬🇧🙂
Thanks Ian!
This was a car I liked in white when I was a child not any more because of those high cc engine garb. Was good for back then, recent times I liked the e class with twin head lights....... (not so recent) after that Mercedes liking started going down .
Beautiful car! Beautiful review!
Can't believe the Merc is that old, very well kept!
Thanks very much. Don’t forget to subscribe and turn on notifications for more 😊
@@CARmagazineTV oh! I am a subscribed fan of this channel ever since I saw that CLK 63 AMG Black here. :) That one was totally epic and a few of my friends too dig your reviews. Keep it up!
Very kind - and thanks for the subs :) More videos on the way!
You didn't know the suspension was taken under license from Citroen ? It was labelled the car of the century by some uk magazine too.
A James Huntmobile. Hell of a barge ! I love this era of Mercs, they do feel tank like. Only ever drove an 80's 380 SEL but even that was fabulous.
Hello Michael.I know an Irishman who was a policeman in London back in the day .
A few years ago he came to Australia and when he saw my 6.9 he told about intending
To book a 6.9 for illegal parking in London , just then the owner arrived and it was James Hunt.
My policeman friend didn’t write the ticket, he settled for an autograph.
I bought that car, super clean euro version with ambassador flagship holders, tinted windows, all white with chrome accents. What is my first car ever had best car ever made
Wow, I really like your style, and the car as well off course. Had to subscribe.
Thanks Christer!
Wonderful car! But if it's all sorted there's no slop at all in the steering like the reviewer mentioned. And you can see him constantly wiggling the wheel. Probably the steering coupler is shot - a universal problem on all W116's. Mine was that way before replacing the coupler. When it's right there's plenty of "communication" and handling is improved greatly. Whoever owns the car should look into it.
It belongs to Mercedes Benz UK! We’ll mention it to them 😉
Got the same issue with my 450 se , too much play in the steering , doesn’t fill you with much confidence especially at 70mph .
I remember this car very well and it seemed more modern than most lux cars. It also was understated. No wood on the doors, only on the dash.
What I like about this era of car is the visibility and low beltline. It's what attracted me to European cars. Unfortunately, there is far less visibility in the current versions of Euro cars.
i have one in navy color like this and still running , yes it is reliable when you maintain it " right " the unpleasant things is the fuel consumption it is so so thirsty
My favorite car ever - I was 6 when we got it and it was incredibly awesome throughout its life with us. Shouldn’t have parted with it.
Brilliant car. I've always had a soft spot for the W116. Also, a familiar face: I used to watch James Dennison on the Parkers CZcams channel. I had no idea he's now at CAR!
I'd love to be able to own one some day, if only to see the faces on the Prius driving, soy latte sipping, tree hugging hippies when they notice the 6.9 badge.
Glad you enjoyed the video! James is still on Parkers, both brands are part of the same company ☺️
Thanks for watching our channels!
My fave Mercedes of all time.
LOL! "I feel like an eel in an oil can!" What an excellent presenter. Very enjoyable.
Glad you enjoyed!
This has an old Old Top Gear vibe lol
I use to have a W116 450SE.I bought it on impulse.Its a rich mans toy and it hemmorages money to keep it maintained.You could sacrifice a lot of time and money to have have one if you had limited disposable income.Despite 16mpg, extortionate price for parts for a temporary thrilling and privileged experience of owning one.Was it worth it and would I do it again? Absolutely, in a heartbeat.Also the lighting in the cockpit is quite remarkable and doesn't get mentioned ever.Probably the best supersaloon in the world after the MB 600.
I spent my childhood getting head injuries from hitting each side of the car as my dad raced every other car
The range after D on the shifter is Slope not sport :)
You have the Merc 300 SEL 6.3 as well 1970’s or late 60’s I can’t remember now ….
Great car, prob shouldn't forget the Jaguar XJ12 in c1972 too
Superb review and wonderful views. I love this S and the one before it. Afterwards I believe Mercedes to justify keep raising prices started adding many features that you do not need and that caused lots of failures
Glad you enjoyed the video! Don’t forget to subscribe and turn notifications on 💪💪
The one before?!? What one before if, this is the first S Class?
@@emiliorodrigues1924
Probably the W108. It didn't have the sonder klasse moniker, but would be considered the spiritual predecessor to the W116.
@shelbygtsoo - the Mercedes W126 that came after this W116 was even more superb. The W140 that followed on from the W126 was just not the same.
If you think this car redefined luxury, you should do a video about Duesenberg!
more cars suspension should be like this, expensive cars yet tiring over rough roads, even taxis with big brand names have stiff suspension, cars should be able to cancel road bumps even speed bumps not roll over then like you're driving a gokart
Brilliant Car!
I think velours was at that time the extra above ordinary leather, wich every taxi had.
Benz seats: entry level was cloth; rugged (near indestructible) MB-Tex (vinyl) was next; then came leather; and top of the lot was velour.
Bring back VELOUR 🙃
The premise seems a bit off; big cars being fast cars has been a constant since car types coalesced into something recognisable (in modern terms) somewhere around 1910.
Without looking beyond the MB stable the 540k (or the ultra-rare 770 series) we can see cars that were both extremely large for their era but also formidably fast.
This sounds like an Ideal Vehicle for Climbing up Steep hills and Mountains
Teutonic knight. Best in class. Nothing could touch a 6.9 in the late 70s. A rare & expensive spec from MB.
Great car
Traducción,gracias.
That was hilarious that you mentioned the oil crisis in 1973, Everybody dumped their gas hogs and went to Datsun ,Toyota and Hondas overnight ! The worse was yet to come Jimmy and billy Carter!
Yes. This automobile was out standing one but the fuel consumption even with reasonable price at that timewas like hill.
Wunderbarr
please I'm looking for this mercedes 450 see 6.9 with very low miles....but very difficult. I mean not more than 5000 mph.
wish you should have filmed the rear & engine 🙄 would have been a rare one, looking this good 😒
I was just gifted one of these today. I have to restore but still
Nice gift!
It needs 295 wide tires, they fit, I know. Then you have the grip to do more.
The Mercedes Benz, 450,and by the 280 SEL,SE,S plus the 350 SEL are iconic, W116 model cars, that is when Mercedes Benz, was competing against Cadillac, Volvo and some other car brands,
That was when Mercedes was ruled by engineers not business men
Yup! Bean counters can't build cars.
S class Mercedes + hydropneumatic suspension = best car in the world (?)
In contrast, the American luxury cars, the Cadillac and Lincolns were known for their power and speed-not to mention luxury. The essential thing that separates the two from Mercedes is the technology. Four wheel independent suspension and four wheel disk brakes for starters. I've driven a few 280se 6.3's and those were exceptional cars. I imagine the 450SEL is no less exceptional.
One thing those yank tanks lacked - completely! - was handling. The average American motorist wouldn't know handling if he found it in bed with him.
@@21stcenturyozman20 Says the bigot with no experience what so ever.
These old Mercedes were so classy. That Maybach is very tacky. What are they thinking?
They think about chinese, arabian and russian oligarchs.
The 108 300SEL 6.3 was quicker and Faster but drive it in a rainstorm at your peril , I know , I had one !
That W108 was actually a W109.
American cars from a decade earlier had more power than this. They made 350 hp from 7 liters, which is 50 hp per liter, and that was an absolute standard. Everybody had a V8 back then, not only luxury cars. And there were also sport versions available to the public, like the Chevy Impala SS, making 425 hp from 7L, which is 61 hp/liter. Not to mention all the luxury these cars had. Even in the 1950's, they already had power steering, power windows, power brakes, power trunks, air conditioning, 4-speed Hydra-Matic, etc.
MB "borrowed" the Citroen suspension idea. 🤫
AAAAAAH it has NOOOOO "S" for "SPORT" in the transmission, It just means "SECOND" what means it's shifting one gear lower ... The transmission willl not act "sporty" when being in "S" . OOOOH yeah that VELOUR was the highest option. You had standard seats, than leather and than VELOUR PULLMAN. They were definitly not standard. BUT still a goord review! :D
True in the W126 cars as well, with that nifty shift gate carried over and eventually copied by many.. yet in the next generation, it would act as sport mode, because if in S, it would kickdown to a first gear start from stop, adding performance. Plus the W116 V8s held second gear past triple digits from what I remember..
The 450 SEL and 450 SEL 6.9 had velour as standard upholstery. Leather was available on request
@@itsi70 Except for grey market cars, you would be hard pressed to find a velour V8 in the US.. I've owned a few 450 SELs and shopped quite a few others, never saw velour in anything but a diesel in the SW and NE US
@@BoycottChinaa Maybe it wasn't offered like this in the USA
.
In my price list, valid from 18.12.1978, Velour is stated as standard upholstery for 450 SEL and 450 SEL 6.9.
For all other models: 280 S to 450 SE, Velour is only available as special upholstery with an extra charge of DM 1345,-
Leather upholstery costs for 280S to 450SE DM 1590,- and for 450 SEL and 450 SEL 6.9 - DM 340,- additional charge
......................Kudos to you for maintaining this vehicle
I have two cars benz w 115 and 123
Both vehicles do not run very badly
The w 115 car was the official car used by the world’s first prime minister
My dream is to get those 2 cars running
It is not easy
The politicians of sri lanka have stolen the national economy and the whole country is in debt to the world
The country is now being run by IMF and world aid
Everything is taxed
Just breathing is not taxed
I have seen benz cars abandoned in some countries which are in the best condition
Both my cars have about 60% damage to the bumper
Recovery is difficult
If you have the body of the w 115 or 123 cars in you possession, I would be grateful if you could provide me with the body of those cars.
Also, if there is any possibility to help me in making these two cars, I would be grateful
Sorry if there was a mistake……
I am also a person who loves benz cars…………………
Never understood why Citroen did not file a patent lawsuit.
Yves Saint Lourant?
- " Oh Lord, would you buy me a Mercedes Benz..
Car design has been going backwards for a long time. New S Class looks more like a Kia.
Sport mode in a german luxury sedan from the '70s!!! WOW!!!😭😭😭 What the letter L means then, next by the shift lever, love mode?
Low gear
@@Markcain268I think: L " langsam" in german (slow) and S is "schnell" (fast) but not sport mode. It's not a Mc Laren or Lamborghini
@@hollandibolygo9172 I know on some older British cars , rover p6 and old jags the L stood for low gear as it wouldn't change into top gear in that position, mostly used for towing and engine braking
@@Markcain268That's correct. It's almost the same on a classic Mercedes. S is for 1st and 2nd gear and L is 1st gear on a 3 speed automatic. On a 4 speed S is 3rd,2nd and 1st. L is 1st and 2nd gear.
@@hollandibolygo9172 my old MK2 Granada had 1 and 2 position you could actually use it to manually change gears if you so wished
“S” isn’t Sport mode
Why is the reviewer sitting so high in the drivers seat! Or is he 7 feet tall?
Definitely not 7-foot! That’s just where the seat base is.
First like! Lol. I hate when people do that. 😂😂😂
I have a frankenstein dream of getting one of these, stripping out the transmission, replacing it with a twin-speed e-CVT transmission from a lexus GS450h, finding room somewhere at the back for a hybrid battery and electric motor by the engine - and voila, a hybrid conversion. With the engine it's got, it will comfortably do 0-60 in sub-5 seconds.
* Mercedes used minimum numbers back then for 0-100 and hp.
The idea of a car steering wheel on the right was the most stupid idea in the history of cars
It’s the correct side.
@@CARmagazineTV Not for Americans...lol
The steering wheel started universally on the right. It changed in NA and most of Europe to LHD later.
@@CARmagazineTV 😶😑😑😑😑😑
@@21stcenturyozman20 😐
👍👍
Beginning of the video is absurdly loud, I have to say.
Ah, apologies!
adam konuştukça direksiyonu dönderiyor 4:00
"The Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9 was the luxury car to have in the 70s."
- V12 Daimler Double-Six Vanden Plas: "Hold my beer".
IMO, the Daimler VdP spec was far better. Coachbuilt by the Vanden Plas works, with bespoke leather, soundproofing and wood.
But without the Benz's solid reliability.
@@21stcenturyozman20
The Merc would leave me cold though.
I'd feel far better with an all-aluminium OHC V12 under the bonnet and a coachbuilt interior, even if I was waiting for the AA to come and rescue me.
😆
The Jag/Daimler was far cheaper than the Merc, so I don't know why they didn't up the price and include better quality; I think a lot of their woes were due to Lucas.
@@lewis72
The Double-Six and XJ12, lovely cars, but horrendously and laughably unreliable. This was unfortunate as it seriously marred what was otherwise a beautiful automobile.
That said, if money was no object, it'd be a 300 SEL 6.3 hands down.
@@hyena131
Definitely a Daimler Double-Six or Jaguar Sovereign V12.
The Merc is just a glorified taxi.
@@lewis72
Agreed, the Merc 240D *IS* a "glorified taxi."
"And let's not mention the fact Arthur Daley drove a supremely unreliable XJ6 which, as you know, was essentially the exact same as the equally unreliable Double-Six or Jaguar Sovereign V12, but just with a smaller engine:) Say no more.
Hee! Hee!
Elephant sized engines are no more in fashion => go lean
Guy looks about 12 years old
The New "Top gear"?? you really talk like them....
Good presentation by a white British boy
A Honda Accord today is way better than that old car in performance, comfort and safety
… but Will a Honda Accord still be around in 45 years time?
in comfort? lol you have no idea what u talking about
a little bit childrens tv soz....mayb dial it bac a bit?
I don’t get it I mean this is the w116 and the engine produces less power than the w114 and also 3 speed gearbox instead the 4 from the precios gen? Wtf Mercedes?