The Mercedes 450 SEL 6.9 Isn’t The German Muscle Car You Expect But It’s Perfect If You Can Ambush Someone With A Cup Of Coffee

By now you are probably aware a few weeks back I spent an enjoyable few days at the Car Design Event Classic in Germany. I got to see some amazing cars at the Nationales Automobile Museum, and stayed in a hotel that formed part of the Leica HQ. From a selection of classic cars bought along by some of the OEMs supporting the event, we asked you what you would like to see me drive, and I did my best to fulfill your wishes.

There were only two afternoon sessions allocated to driving, so time was a bit limited. But because I’m ungovernable, cantankerous, and generally bloody minded I took as long as I wanted anyway. Thanks to an odd quirk of German car registration because it had only just been purchased, this 450 SEL 6.9 was on red (dealer) plates, which meant it could only driven by the owner, or if someone else was driving (i.e. me) with the owner on board.

That person was one of the organizers of the event, so prizing him away for a couple of hours for a drive meant turning my British charm up to 11.

It Was Three Times The Price Of A Cadillac

A long time ago I owned a baby one of these, a lowly 350SE. My then-best friend had bought it on a whim but couldn’t live with the frightful fuel economy, so we did a straight swap for my MkVI Escort 1.6S. The front fender was a bit crusty, but to my amazement at the time (about 2003) parts were still available brand new from Mercedes Benz. That car was over twenty years old but the rest of it was immaculate, and I had a fun few months smoking around east London in it getting about 15mpg. It even had painted wheel trims; no fancy bottle cap-style alloys for me.

That kind of summed up Mercedes back then. A Mercedes was a quiet statement of class, refinement, and dignity. They were not flash and gaudy, unlike today’s Middle East nightclub Benzes. You weren’t paying for features – you were paying for million-mile build quality and unimpeachable engineering. And you did pay – when it was introduced in 1975 the 450SEL 6.9 would have cost you about 70,000DM in Germany. In North America, according to Wikipedia the list price was $38,230 (about $190k today). For comparison a 1975 Seville, then the most expensive Cadillac and a car specifically targeted at luxury euro imports like the W116, was $12,400. The 6.9 was about a third more expensive than the smaller-engined versions in the range, like my old 350. Pulling up at the country club in one of the big Benzes left no one in any doubt you had all the money.

This wasn’t the first time Mercedes had dropped their biggest V8 into their full-size sedan – they had previously crowbarred the 6.3 liter V8 from the 600 limousine into the W109 to create the 300SEL 6.3, which in time formed the basis for the AMG Rote Sau (Red Pig). Due to tightening emissions regulations this was no longer considered sufficient for the new model, so the engine was knocked out to 6.9 liters (417cu in for your muscle car comparisons). Fitted with a Bosch mechanical K-Jetronic injection system, it made 286bhp but more impressively over 400 lb-ft of torque. And it needed it, because this 16’6” (5 meter) Panzer weighs – are you sitting down – about 4400lbs (2000kg).

It Pulls Like A Train And Steers Like A Boat

You feel every single pound out on the road, but not in a bad way. Despite contemporary tests likening it to a German muscle car it’s just not that kind of visceral experience. What it is, is an unstoppable bahnstormer. Long travel accelerator pedal to the carpet and sixty comes up in just under eight seconds – slightly saddled by the auto box only having three speeds. The engine, which slightly disappointingly is barely audible, simply pours out a huge swell of torque that you just ride and ride all the way to three figures. Even then it’s still pulling like the DB Intercity Express between Hannover and Berlin. The big Mercedes feels like it will do this sort of thing all day, and just not stop. You would have no hesitation in pointing the 6.9 at the unrestricted sections of the Autobahn and showing much younger cars what 400 lb-ft can do from 80mph.

The reluctant ball power steering is both effort and feel-free, so you haul on the big rim and hope for the best. All round disc brakes shed the speed quickly enough that you won’t be scraping the door handles hauling this German frigate through the corners. It does roll a bit, but body motions are well-controlled so you won’t get seasick. Mountain hairpins are not really it’s happy place though; it’s a wafter not a carver. When I was driving the Integrale I rapidly came up behind someone else driving this car and was loudly imploring them to put their foot down. After driving the 6.9 myself I realized they probably had the thing on the floor.

What Color Is The Boat House At Hereford?

There’s a scene in the seminal John Frankenheimer car chase thriller Ronin where De Niro’s character Sam stands up in the sunroof of a 6.9 and fires a rocket launcher at the car they’re chasing at high speed. This is possible because the 6.9 was the first Mercedes equipped with a full self-leveling hydropneumatic suspension system, preventing dive and squat under pedal-to-floor braking and acceleration. If your day job involves being a shadowy government operative, there’s plenty of room for your squad and gear, and it’s a stable high-speed weapons platform [Ed Note: John Frankenheimer, the director, owned one of these and I got to see it at the Petersen Auto Museum. – MH]

You might not have a lot of toys to play with compared to a Cadillac, but with standard climate control, something lesser models didn’t have, you won’t be sweating when the operation goes sideways.

You might be sweating when it comes to owning one though, and not just because of the sheer size of the thing. The owner had only driven the car a couple of times before graciously handing me the keys, so it was a case of the blind leading the blind as we tried to figure out some of the controls–it’s got a US-style umbrella handle and pedal parking brake for instance. There apparently is a way of adjusting the suspension but we couldn’t find it. The climate controls remained an unfathomable mystery. And these 6.9s have a lot of unique parts compared to other W116s – the battery alone is big enough to jump-start a Lufthansa 747. The engine has a dry sump to make sure it fitted under the hood – and it swallows 12 liters (about 13 quarts) of oil. The EPA has the economy at 10/14 city/highway. The owner told me he gets about 12 imperial. So like a lot of Germans it enjoys a drink.

You have to imagine the Mercedes engineers had gone hard on the breakfast beer when they came up with the 6.9. It’s a crazy thing but in a very measured, sensible German way. It’s one of the forerunners of the many hot rod sedans that would go on to build in the future like the W124 500E, and the various AMG cars. You could have 85% of the same experience with a standard 350 or 450 and their economy is scarcely any better, but there’s no fun or financial ruin in that. If there’s one thing the Germans are known for, it’s their sense of humor.

Top graphic: Robert Deniro in Ronin via YouTube screen grab

• Someone Converted A Classic Mercedes Sedan Into A Pickup And We’re Thinking About Buying It
• Brabus Just Built A 986-Horsepower Mercedes SL Shooting Brake And It Is Madness
• Bruno Sacco’s Greatest Mercedes Designs Are Still Shockingly Affordable
• How Bruno Sacco Made Mercedes Design So Perfectly Timeless