Description
Offered for sale is our exceptionally beautiful and rare 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SE “Low Grill” Coupe finished in desirable and factory correct Moss Green Metallic (DB 834) over a Cognac leather interior with a rare and desirable factory sunroof and Behr air conditioning. Being a California car all its life, the undercarriage is entirely original. Only 613 W111 “Heckflosse” (fintail) coupes were produced with the tried and true 2.8L inline six cylinder engine in 1970 – the first year to introduce the desirable low grill design – and this is one of only three that left the factory in Moss Green Metallic. It’s as rare, unique and appealing as W111 coupes come.
Ordered new through the Mercedes-Benz European Delivery program by a Mr. Arthur Alter of Carmel, CA, the car was picked up at the factory while the Alters vacationed in Europe. They drove the car from Stuttgart through southern Germany and into France before having the initial service performed at the Mercedes dealership in Villeurbanne in April of 1970. At the end of their vacation the car was shipped to San Francisco before being delivered to their home in Carmel, where it was used gently and thoroughly serviced at Stahl Mercedes Benz in Monterey for the duration of Mr. Alter’s thirteen year ownership. It was sold to its second owner, George W. Evans of Monterey, CA in 1983. He would own the car for a decade before selling it to Mr. Dion Dow, also of Monterey. Mr. Dow would own the car for 21 years before we acquired it a couple months ago. The thick stack of maintenance receipts from Mr. Dow’s ownership total more than $37k, proof positive that the car was as well cared for under his stewardship as it had been with its two previous owners.
That high level of care is evidenced by the car’s current condition. The rare and wonderfully era-specific Moss Green Metallic finish is in excellent condition, retaining consistency, depth and luster and marred only by the most minimal of imperfections, none of which are so large as to register in any of the pictures. The body is entirely straight with excellent panel fits and gaps throughout and no evidence of any accidents. All of the chrome, glass and rubber is in excellent shape and the wheels (with color-matched hubs) are wrapped in tires with plenty of remaining tread. The car’s interior is equally as clean, the luxurious front seats appearing virtually new and the rear seats, interior panels and carpets showing only minimal wear. The headliner is flawless, the dash is in great shape and the original wood trim has been partially refinished and presents beautifully. Also worth noting is the car’s Becker radio and its exceedingly rare factory Behr Air Conditioning unit. Reflecting the car’s dry, California history, the undercarriage is in excellent original and solid condition and the trunk is also free of rust.
Mechanically the car is superb, starting easily, idling smoothly and consistently and pulling strongly and smoothly through each of the gears. The car drives and brakes straight and is entirely comfortable, whether tooling through town or cruising down the highway. I can personally speak to its mechanical quality after recently driving it up Highway 1 from Newport Beach to Santa Barbara. One of the main reasons that the late W111 “Heckflosse” cars have become popular collector cars (in addition to their timelessly elegant lines and superior build quality) is that they possess the best of both worlds mechanically – reliability and a modern drive quality, yet still retaining a vintage feel. They can easily be daily driver cars, which is a stretch for the earlier, smaller-engined models.
Considering their rarity and the astronomical prices that their Cabriolet and 3.5 Coupe siblings are fetching, W111 Coupes have long been undervalued in most classic car enthusiasts’ minds. That’s not always going to be the case, so it’s our opinion that they currently represent excellent investment upside. Finding “Low Grill” W111s is hard enough as it is, but finding a gorgeous, honest, rare factory finished and optioned example is perhaps a once in a lifetime opportunity.
