Luxury meets dynamism: the premiere of the S-Class coupés from the 140 series 30 years ago

With self-confident design, the Mercedes-Benz SEC luxury coupés of the 140 series entered the automotive world stage 30 years ago as other top models in the brand's passenger car range alongside the S-Class. These sporty, top-class touring cars are based on the luxury saloons of the 140 series, but differ more stylistically from them than was the case with the coupés and saloons of the previous 126 series. “The new SEC coupés resist the wind very little, but the uniformity of style all the more. After all, anyone who holds a technological leadership role must also be a role model when it comes to design,” says the sales brochure from the year of the premiere.

Series 140 30 years ago

• World premiere at NAIAS in Detroit January 11-19, 1992
• Top models of the Mercedes-Benz passenger car range based on the S-Class
• Exclusive youngtimers are among the contenders for H license plates in 2022

In 600, the 1992 SEC was the most expensive series automobile made in Germany. There it cost DM 1992 in February 220.020,00 with its opulent equipment - not including other items that are also available on request. Today, all the fascinating luxury coupés of the series shine with fine wood and leather interiors as special stars among youngtimers and have long been loved by enthusiasts valued as stylish contemporary witnesses of the early 1990s characterized by luxury and innovative technology. In 2022, the SEC coupés will be among the particularly exclusive first contenders for the coveted H license plate, which automobiles can receive 30 years after their first registration. A short time later, the luxury coupés were technologically at the forefront, for example with the introduction of the Electronic Stability Program ESP^®: The groundbreaking assistance system was developed by Mercedes-Benz together with Bosch, presented as a world premiere in 1994 in coupés of the 140 series and saw its market launch in 1995 in the exclusive two-door touring car. As with the S-Class sedans, the focus in the development of the coupé was on further perfecting comfort and safety.

This ranges from the double glazing of the windows for optimal acoustics and seat belts with belt feeders to the electric seat adjustment (with memory function as standard in the 600 SEC) and automatic climate control with separate zones for driver and front passenger (standard in the 600 SEC) to the elaborately tuned chassis: This consists of a newly developed double wishbone front axle that is vibration-free from the bodywork and a multi-link independent rear axle that has been fundamentally revised in terms of wheel location. The 600 SEC in particular leaves nothing to be desired with its standard equipment. The trade journal "auto motor und sport" wrote about the top model in a comparison test of twelve-cylinder coupés in issue 3/1993: "The Mercedes is not the king of the country road, but it is the undisputed master of driving comfort. Noise, suspension, seats, air conditioning, each an optimum, add up to a level of comfort far above that of the two twelve-cylinder competitors.”

Debut in Detroit and Geneva 30 years ago

The elegant two-door models had their world premiere at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) from January 11 to 19, 1992 in Detroit. The European debut follows at the Geneva Motor Show from March 5 to 15, 1992. First, the two variants 500 SEC (V8 engine with 4.973 cubic centimeters displacement and 235 kW/320 hp) and 600 SEC (V12 engine with 5.987 cubic centimeter displacement and 290 kW/394 hp) offered. The engine corresponds to the respective S-Class sedans of the 140 series. From 1994, a third type with a 4,2-liter four-valve V8 engine was added to the model range of luxury coupés. At that time, however, these no longer bore the designation SEC, but since the introduction of the new Mercedes-Benz nomenclature for all passenger car series in June 1993, they have been referred to as S-Class coupés. From 1996 until the end of production in 1998, the classy two-door models were finally called the CL-Class.

The fact that the SEC coupés deserve their top spot with more than just technical excellence, performance and a proud price is made clear not least by the assessment of the two-door models in the international media: "Befitting a king (and with a princely price)", writes the specialist magazine "Road & Track" in its April 1993 edition ("Fit for a king [and fetching a princely sum]") on the Mercedes-Benz 600 SEC. In March 1993, the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" even honored the same type as the "Emperor of the Autobahn" in a driving report headed "His Majesty leave the coupé, please". However, the author also pays tribute to the dynamics of the large coupé: "The voluminous car heaves around the bends [on the country road] with surprising speed, as if it weighed only half as much."

This unique combination of luxurious elegance and sporty performance inspires lovers of the brand just as much today as it did 30 years ago. A total of exactly 26.022 coupés from the 140 series were built at the Sindelfingen plant within six years. Almost a third of this is accounted for by the V12 top model (8.573 vehicles). Significantly more than half of the customers opt for the variant with a 5-liter V8 engine (14.953 vehicles).

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Luxury meets dynamism: the premiere of the S-Class coupés from the 140 series 30 years ago
Photo credit: Mercedes-Benz

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