When the Benz becomes the Koenig

Valley [ENA] Mercedes-Benz has produced around 74,000 coupés of the C126 coupé variant of the W126 series, which was unveiled at the IAA in 1981. This series, launched in 1979, set new standards in the luxury car segment throughout its long production run of 12 years. Yet its launch was met with criticism: some claimed that the ‘plastic age’ was beginning at Mercedes. Its predecessor, the W116 – occasionally dubbed the ‘chrome battleship’ – was one of, if not the, ultimate state limousine. Now, Mercedes’ chief designer Bruno Sacco had sketched a sober, aerodynamically streamlined body. The chrome bumpers had to make way for polyurethane ones. By the time production ended in 1992, just under 900,000 W126s had been built, securing the model range’s status as the world’s most successful luxury saloon of all time – a title it still holds today.   [Full story...]