The Mercedes S-Class W126 It is considered one of the best Mercedes of all time. It was in production for three different decades – from the late ’70s to the early ’90s – and many units are still in working order. At the time it was the most expensive Mercedes, and back then the most expensive Mercedes were really prohibitive. During the eighties, many preparers and bodybuilders tried to conquer the wealthy customers of the Mercedes S-Class through proposals as peculiar as the one we are presenting to you today.
Beyond high-performance-oriented preparers, such as AMG or Carlsson, during the eighties there was a huge resurgence of coachbuilders. These coachbuilders – names like Zender, Sbarro or Carat Duchatelet – transformed vehicles into whatever the client wanted: money was cheap and the nouveau riche abounded in countries like Germany, Japan or the United States. From that collective delirium that was the world of tuning in the eighties were born cars like the Mercedes 560 TEL Estate by Caro. The estate S-Class that Mercedes never produced.
Of European origin, this 1990 unit boasts only 110,000 km on its odometer.
expensive is a renowned bodybuilder based in Hamburg. Even today he is still known for the quality of his creations, whose finish is almost indistinguishable from an OEM product, created by the car manufacturer itself. To create this S-Class estate, Caro used the tailgate of a family Mercedes W124, as well as their optics. However, its larger dimensions forced them to create bespoke windows, as well as create an extension to the saloon’s roof. The final proportions are absolutely impeccable.
The car is truly indistinguishable from an OEM product, if Mercedes had dared to make it. The basis of this bodywork was a top-of-the-range version of the Mercedes S-Class, a 560 SEL equipped with a 5.6 V8 engine with 300 horsepower. The starting unit already had quite a few items of extra equipment, in which I only miss the “Reiserechner” on-board computer, a really sought-after extra. The cost of this vehicle, including preparation, was DM 337,000 in the year 1990.
This unit has recently been auctioned by RM Sotheby’s, in Arizona. It sold for $112,000.
We are talking about the equivalent of 172,000 euros in 1990. If we adjust that amount for inflation, we find the tremendous figure of 285,500 euros.. Another day we will talk about the Mercedes S-Class W140 – the generation following the W126 – family members developed exclusively by AMG during the 90s, at the request of exclusive Asian clients.
