The majority of the material and information shown here was published by the 'Daimler-Benz Presseabteilung' in october 1979. Some texts were edited slighty.

For the designer, the automobile is one of the most complex design problems of all. The car is a synthesis between function and aesthetics on the one hand, and a number of other concrete and abstract factors which undergo constant change.

For this reason, the designers at Daimler-Benz initially create a number of design concepts which however, always visualize the typical characteristics of the Mercedes form and also enable association with the classic forms of earlier Mercedes cars.

A broadening of the priorities upon determination of the design objectives for the W126 increased the importance for the form-finding process of reducing air resistance and weight. Detailed full scale draughts along with models offer an opportunity in the early stages of design to concretize the contents of the different concepts.

A large number of suggestions for the design of the interior appointments of the W126 were worked out - in much the same way as the exterior design - corresponding to the various design concepts. Here too, the widest range of factors stemming from legislation, results of ergonomic studies and the safety regulations of individual countries had to be taken into account at a very early point during work.

With road transport becoming more and more regimented and technicalized, the physical and mental endurace of the drive is being constantly tested.

This is borne in mind in the initial stages at Daimler-Benz. The objective must therefore be to reduce the number of different functional spheres, instruments and controls to reasonable proportions in order to limit the stress on the driver.

In the Daimler-Benz car assembly plant in Sindelfingen, separate production facilities were set up for the W126. Workplace design and product quality were equally improved through the use of the latest production technologies then available such as automatically controlled welding units (top photo) and new assembly fixtures design to avoid laborious overhead work (bottom photo).

Excellent performance, and economy to meet the demands made by the energy situation of the late seventies, that was expected from the touring saloon cars of those days. The W126 models met these demands in an exemplary fashion through their excellent aerodynamic styling (cw of 0.36), reduced weight, new light alloy V8 engines and a large number of improvements on technical details. All this contributed towards reducing fuel-consumption by some 10 percent.

An important task of the Daimler-Benz design teams in shaping the W126 was to integrate the classic characteristics of earlier Mercedes-Benz models in the modern, clean, more aerodynamic lines of the new model. The photo shows representatives of four S-class generations: on the left, the 300 SE of 1961, next to it a 300 SEL 6.3, 1968, and a 450 SE from the 116 range, which has been part of the model line from 1972 to 1979. The W126 model carried on this tradition in a convincing manner, constituting a forward-looking synthesis of functionality and aestetics without succumbing to short-lived modish influences.

This 500SEL was offered to Pope John Paul II, in august of 1985. The car was lenghtened slightly, a single rear seat and an enlarged slideroof were just some of the extras on this car. Oh, and it was armoured, of course.

Here you can see the last officially produced W126 S-class. This 560SEL, serial number 605721 can be seen as the key is handed to the head of the Mercedes-Benz Museum by Prof. Werner Niefer. By 1991, 818.066 W126 cars had been produced, of which almost 70% were exported. Half of those went to the USA. The last W126 SEC was built in late august 1991. This blue SEC also found its way to the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. 73.060 SECs were built in total. Although production officially stopped in 1991, several W126 cars were exported to the US and sold as 1992 models. Mercedes-Benz South Africa continued to build the W126 for another 3 years, finishing off with a number of 'limited edition' versions. Nelson Mandela was offered a red W126 by the workers of MBSA when he was released from captivity.