Mercedes W111 Coupe/Cabriolet RHD Manual vs Auto
I recently had a question on my previous post around RHD/LHD 111 Coupe/Cabriolet about the numbers of Automatics vs Manuals.
This is an interesting question and not one that I have the answer to. However from my own observations of RHD models for sale and at shows, manuals are fairly common in the 220SE, rare in the 250SE and 300SE and then extremely rare for the 280SE, and 280SE 3.5.
I keep notes of the cars that I see for sale, and from my albeit small sample size, I have:
| Model | Coupe Manual | Coupe Automatic | Cabriolet Manual | Cabriolet Auto | Total (inc unknown) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 220SE | 7 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 23 |
| 250SE | 0 | 23 | 0 | 3 | 26 |
| 280SE | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 300SE | 0 | 11 | 2 | 10 | 24 |
| 280SE 3.5 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 7 | 38 |
The totals also include cars I do not have the transmission types for. Data is current as of October 2013.
Leave comments of any cars you know of that you have the chassis number so I can add them to the database.
Hi,
I have a 1968 w111 coupe Automatic RHD , Chassis number 22-000096, This car is in excellent condition and is in Queensland.
I am in Cape Town, South Africa and I have a right hand drive manual 280SE, Chassis 111.025-20-002080, Engine 111025 204 70059 80020. I believe this combination is quite unusual and rare. I have owned it for 6 years and considered selling it but have had no serious offers.
Yes, this is quite rare. By the time of the 280s, manuals were not common.
The engine number does not seem right – it should start with 130 980 ….
I have a
280 SE 3.5
Manual
VIN 11102620003230
That you can add to the list
11102422000121
Is my 1968 vehicle RHD factory sunroof 280se coupe that I drove as a daily driver for a couple of decades; so according to your chart my car was 121 of 150 for that year’s production.
I then started a ground up restoration, nut and bolt rebuild of the engine and bare metal restoration of the body work. I was at 95% completed when a fire at my mechanic’s workshop broke out and burnt to the ground. Total devastation on so many levels. I have no words. I am not even sure that the chassis is salvageable because of the expansion and contraction of the metal and besides I’m tapped out financially on redoing everything again. I also am now sadly priced out of the market as examples are in the hundreds of thousands and I’m insured at a laid up value of 60 which is what price point they were 60-80 at the commencement of restoration. Never saw the escalation of prices the way they are and besides I was only a couple of months away from finalising the rebuild where I would have then had the new evaluation to reflect concours condition; but the fire got in first. The cold comfort is they caught the arsonist, but like I said, that is cold comfort. Thanks for listening. It’s been therapeutic. If anyone is interested in the chassis and think they can do something with it, feel free to reach out. I knew it was rare but not 121 of 150. Ouch.