History of Mercedes-Benz: the 300SEL 6.3

The Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3 was born out of a complaint from journalists in the mid 1960s that Daimler-Benz built nothing but cars for executives, farmers and retirees. It was a mixture of two cars that were both not able to live up to the company's expectations. The 600 and the 300SEL, the longer and air-suspension equipped version of the 300SE W108 Benz. Both were great cars, but the 600 was for most people in Europe just a bit too flashy and the 300SEL for its price tag not powerful enough with its 2.8 six-cylinder engine.

The 300SEL 6.3 filled its niche perfectly. It wasn't as big and showy as the 600 and it wasn't as slow as the normal SEL Benz either. For the European driver, who had learned to settle with 2.5 to 4.0 l six-cylinder engines in their executive cars, the 6.3 l Benz was a revelation. Driving this car meant to enter a different world.

The engine had been taken with just minor adjustments straight out of the big 600. With 250 hp at 4,000 rpm, a compression ratio of 1:9.0 and a max. torque of 51 mkp (368.9 ft-lbs) at just 2,800 rpm, it offered plenty of grunt to put a big smile on your face. Average fuel consumption was said to be 21 l/100km (11.2 m/g), but most automotive journalists easily managed to bring that figure to 27 and even 30 l/100km (8.7 and 7.8 m/g). Despite its dry weight of 1,830 kg (4,000 lbs), it could accelerate in 7.4 seconds from 0-100 km/h (faster than a Porsche 911S and a Ferrari 330GTC) and it achieved a top speed of 121 km/h (137 m/h). Not too shabby for a big sedan at the end of the 1960s!

But it was not only the engine that people appreciated. Inside the Benz was as lavishly equipped as possible. Next to power windows, vacuum-controlled central locks and velours upholstery it had as a first in a Mercedes sedan a rev counter, placed in the upper center of the instrument housing, where one could previously find the clock. The clock moved to the left side of the dashboard instead. But actually the rev counter wasn't really that necessary, as the engine had plenty of low-end torque to offer and very few managed to push it right up to its limits. The car offered a surprisingly smooth operation over its entire rev band and was happy to cruise at high speeds for hours, traffic situation and your wallet permitting. The wood on the dashboard and window surrounds was not anymore just walnut as on the lesser W108 Benz models, it was burr walnut and like in the W111 coupe/cabriolet, other wood veneer options such as macassar ebony could be specified. It had a limited slip differential and at the front US-style headlights with halogen bulbs. These headlights quickly became synonymous with the 6.3, as they offered plenty of prestige on a German autobahn.

The 6.3 Benz was offered at 39,160 DM (9,790.- US$), which was for sure no bargain, but as we have seen already before, it was for a Mercedes-Benz unusually well equipped. The only major items on the options list your fountain pen could tick, were leather interior and sunroof. While the car cost in the US 15,120.- US$, it was even more expensive in the UK. Including all taxes, this Benz had a price tag of almost 7,700.- GBP (18,500.- US$). But when one compares this with vehicles such as the Maserati Quattroporte, the Iso Rivolta or even a Bentley T (which cost double), and take into consideration its comfort, reliability, quality and performance, it does almost look like a bargain, even when fully equipped. The Jaguar XJ12 was only introduced in 1972, the year production of the 6.3 Benz ceased. In its final year the price of the 6.3 had risen to 45,400.- DM (11,350.- US$) without VAT. In 1971 the 6.3 was replaced in North America first with the 3.5 l and one year later the 4.5 l.

When the company had decided to build the Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3, the sales department was initially very hesitant to take the project on. They did not think that more than fifty of them could be sold. And they meant fifty on a world-wide basis. Rudolf Uhlenhaut, famous director of Daimler-Benz remarked, when confronted with that sales estimate that he himself could sell fifty in a heartbeat, if he wanted to. In the end the 6.3 Mercedes-Benz surprised even its staunchest supporters, as 6,526 units found their appreciative owners from 1967 till 1972.