After the long-running W126 S Class that debuted in 1979, the W140 successor is one of Mercedes-Benz’s last examples of the “ultimate” well-built car, some might say.

Critics argue that the W220 S-Class that came after the W140 in 1998, incorporated significant cost-cutting and as a result, was less reliable on the quality front.

The damage that this caused to the upper luxury standing of the car meant that for future generations Mercedes-Benz cars were backpedaling on its quality standards. But in the days of the W140, Mercedes was on its peak game.

Despite its styling THAT some said looked like an inflated E-Class or even worse “the tissue box” (those Germans are unforgiving), the W140 still managed to sell 432,732 cars, of which 406,710 were sedans and 26,022 were coupes. 

The sedan was accompanied by a coupe, the “CL”, and while not an attractive beast, was the epitome of sports grand tourer luxury in its day (“sport” being dubious, but the “grand tourer” piece amplified in V12 form).

The story of the W140 incredibly stretches to 1981 when concepts started being sketched internally. Olivier Boulay, Head Designer, signed off the final design proposal in December 1986. The final exterior styling was frozen in September 1987. The W140 would be a size bigger than the W220 to cement the S Class as the definite upper luxury sedan (apart from dated competitors from Rolls-Royce and Bentley). 

Mercedes knew BMW had the S-Class in its sights with its next 7 Series and a probable V8 engine. It also had formidable competition from Jaguar especially with its XJ12 having a V12, with its old-world luxury feeling still achieving good sales despite its dated architecture.

When BMW launched its 7 Series in 1986 it unexpectedly rocked a V12 in the top shelf 750iL spec. The 7 Series ushered in a progressive design that looked slick and was reinforced when the smaller 5 series took on a similar design language in 1988.

Mercedes had not expected a V12 so the engineering team was sent back to the drawing board to configure a solution, which delayed the W140’s launch from 1989 to March 1991, while Mercedes developed its V12 engine and rearranged its engine bay to fit. 

Rumour had it that BMW was also making a V16 and Mercedes ended up quite advanced on an even bigger V12, as well as a W18 but climate concerns in the 1990s killed the idea of such a far-out car! 

Needless to say, the cost bill racked up on the W140’s development and by the time the car was released, it was 25 percent more expensive than its predecessor.

The W140 S Class gained notoriety in 1997 when Princess Diana was killed in an S280. It also gained attention when the Maybach upper luxury brand launched in 2000 with its 57 and 62 models being built on the then aging W140 chassis.

For its day the W140 debuted many high tech features including xenon headlights, side airbags (Mercedes was second to the market after Volvo), voice-prompted satellite navigation, automatic wipers, soundproof glass (that was double glazed), foldable mirrors and rear parking marker sticks (that later were replaced with traditional parking sensors).

Quirks of the interior were many including:

⁃ an interior centre mirror that moves electronically and could be programmed to sync with the electric seat controls;

⁃ retractable hand to open the trunk and to not touch the paint, which then disappeared when not in use;

⁃ Soft close doors, which were well ahead of their time

⁃ a power telescope steering wheel that worked in all directions;

⁃ Rear headrests that could drop out of the way;

⁃ A charcoal filter on the air conditioning system;

⁃ Reclining and heated rear seats;

⁃ A hidden compartment above the front air vents for a car phone;

⁃ Flimsy cup holders in the glove box and the rear armrest (well before cup holders became the norm);

⁃ A special button to press on the dash if snow chains were in use;

⁃ And the list went on.