I’m a sucker for classic over-sized coupes and this ’91 Mercedes-Benz 560sec doesn’t disappoint.
This is the last year of production for this luxury coupe and Mercedes only sent about 675 of them to the US market. A quick look on the web tells me that there are only a handful of these cars for sale currently and none of them are as original or complete as the one we are working on today.
Black on black with no shortage of wood adorned switches just has this car dripping with class . . .
Analog gauges were perfected just before everything went digital. In the 70s and 80s they had their issues as far as accuracy, but by the 90s they were works of art and this cluster is no exception. In standard Mercedes form the instrumentation gives all the information needed for the true enthusiast with the bold orange pointers reporting the data. It currently shows 110,605 on the odometer which means this car has been driven about 4500 miles a year since new. Just the right amount of driving to keep a car like this functioning properly over a 24 year period.
This car also has about every luxury item that could be had in 1991. Seat heaters, seat belt assist and power everything made it an $85,000 car when new. This would be the equivilant of buying a $150k car in 2015 dollars.
Leather work of this quality is just now starting to make its way back into the interiors of luxury cars. For about two decades following the production of cars like this one, the leather became too thin and often times improperly dyed in order to cut production costs. The leather in the 560sec is thick and rich with robust stitching that is typically reserved for saddlery.
The optional first aid kit is still in-tact and I’m pretty sure it has never been opened . . .
Just about the only thing you could complain about is the airbag is over-sized by today’s standards, but the rest of the wheel is clean and the leather in great shape given the age of the car.
This car has been in California its entire life and the undercarriage shows with not a spot of rust. It came to us for a yearly look-over and the front brake calipers were dragging so they were replaced (somewhat common for low mileage car.) Amazingly, everything still works on this car and it is a pleasure to drive. A super smooth Autobahn cruiser that was the epitome of class in the early 1990s. I’ll enjoy taking care of this car as long as it remains in Southern California . . .
Chris Keefer
Independent Motorcars
5836 Autoport Mall
San Diego CA 92121
858-455-5836
www.independentmotorcars.com