Mercedes-Benz W111

The Mercedes-Benz W111 is a line of full-sized luxury cars that Mercedes-Benz built from 1959 to 1971. The four-door saloons, made from 1959 to 1968, are known as the Fintail, from the German Heckflosse, because of the pointed tailfins on their rear wings; the two-door coupes and cabriolets, designed by Paul Bracq and built from 1961 to 1971, have cleaner, squarer lines and were produced alongside the saloons. The first saloons were the 220 b, 220 Sb and 220 SEb, all using the 2,195 cc M127 straight-six engine, with the top model fuel-injected. The W111 chassis was shared down to the four-cylinder W110 and up to the 300 SE of the W112 series, and the cars were among the first Mercedes-Benz models with front and rear crumple zones and patented retractable seatbelts. 337,803 saloons were built between 1959 and 1968, and the 250 SE, 280 SE and 280 SE 3.5 coupes and cabriolets followed the 220 SE.