Coys Auction - Techno Classica Essen
Essen
Germany
Saturday 10 April 2010
Admission by catalogue only - admits two.
Registration Number: EU Registered Chassis Number: 1800307511842
It is not always appreciated what a stir Mercedes-Benz road cars made in the 1950s and 60s. Leaving aside such obvious stars as the 300SL ‘Gullwing‘, there were headlines like Magnificent Mercedes when a new saloon came out. It is not hard to see why: the company introduced new levels of build quality to even its most mundane models.
Take the 220S; here was a discreetly styled saloon with a top speed of 100mph - when it was introduced in 1956, 100mph was beyond some sports cars. It was superbly assembled at a time when most saloons were of dubious quality and it had such features as servo-assisted brakes and an overhead camshaft engine.
It also basked in the reflected glory of Mercedes-Benz‘s legendary return to Grand Prix racing in 1954 (Fangio won back-to-back World Championships) and its winni