Mercedes-Benz W114 and W115: making a marque

By Martin Buckley

| 2 Oct 2023

Classic & Sports Car – Mercedes-Benz W114 and W115: making a marque

Mercedes-Benz, during its chrome-bumper era, could never be accused of making changes for change’s sake.

Instead, it tended to make a careful plan and stick with it.

The Ponton of 1953, the first modern, unitary-bodied Mercedes passenger car, was the genesis of a post-war concept that would carry the marque through to the ’70s.

The ‘New Generation’ Mercedes-Benz W114/115 range was the marque’s bread-and-butter model for eight years

It was nothing more than a beautifully engineered and built three-box, five-seat, overhead-cam-engined saloon car with swing-axle rear suspension that, across a typical nine-year production cycle, was expected to serve as a diesel taxi workhorse while also, in its six-cylinder form, cutting the mustard as luxury transport.

So if the 1959 Fintail range was little more than a safer, more fashionable Ponton, then the W108 – and its various extrapolations – was really just a tidied-up Fintail with a variety of six-cylinder and V8 engine options.

Certain glamour models such as the 300SL and 300 Adenauers fell outside of this mainstream engineering rationalism, but even the pretty Pagoda SL series was really just a prudent development of Fintail technology.

The W114 and W115’s stacked headlights echoed the larger Mercedes W108/9

The elegant ‘square-back’ W108s and W109s began to establish a more prestigious line of Mercedes saloons – not officially an S-Class yet but, significantly, offering no four-cylinder or diesel models in a range that could only extend itself up, never down.

Behind the scenes in the mid-1960s the Stuttgart engineers were cultivating plans for a new, medium-sized saloon range, known collectively as the W114 and W115, that would not only supplant the W110/111/112 models (whose baroque styling was falling rapidly out of favour), but also establish a new chassis bloodline that would form the basis of the firm’s engineering through to the end of the ’80s.

The Mercedes 250 saloon has a commanding driving position (left); previous owner Paul Weller left his mark

The chassis codes defined the engines fitted: W114s were petrol straight-sixes, while W115 equalled four cylinders, either petrol or diesel.

The five-cylinder 240D 3.0 of 1974 challenged that logic, but this was the era when Stuttgart’s bootlid badging policy reached the apogee of confusion, with, for instance, both four- and six-pot 230 petrol offerings, the 230.4 and 230.6.

Although the W114 and W115 represented perhaps the most important new model range for almost 20 years, nothing about it was earth-shattering at the 1968 unveiling.

The no-frills trim is somewhat basic, but very practical

However, the fact that this vast range of petrol- and diesel-powered four-door saloons was promoted as the ‘New Generation’ was an indication of the significance Mercedes placed on what was, after all, to be its bread-and-butter money-earner for the next eight years and 1.8 million sales.

That figure includes 67,000 two-door coupé 250/280C and CE variants (from 1969), and several thousand specialist extended-wheelbase 17½ft-long airport limousines powered either by 220 or 240 diesel engines or the smaller M180 straight-six.

Mercedes began to tweak variants of these mid-sized cars to local requirements: one such instance was the 250 coupé, which in North America actually had a 280 single-overhead-cam engine to maintain performance in the face of tightening emissions regulations.

Mercedes’ understated 250 saloon is a sweet and undemanding car to drive

By my calculations the range embraced 31 variants, with the various diesels being the biggest-selling models individually – 345,000 of them in the case of the 220D.

A 240D that had clocked up 2.9 million miles was donated to the Mercedes-Benz Museum collection by an Athens cabbie in 2004 – a record that is unlikely to be broken for a Mercedes now.

The model’s neat, airy roofline and vertically arranged Bosch headlights gave a strong family resemblance to the larger W108/9 – strong enough to confuse the uninitiated in many cases.

Out of this confusion came the Strich Acht (slash eight) shorthand, referencing the 1968 introduction of this smaller body.

A big boot is common across all Mercedes W114 and W115 derivatives

Paul Bracq styled both cars, the W114/115 being 8.7in shorter than a 280S/SE yet roomier and only 50lb (23kg) heavier than the outgoing Fintail.

The shell incorporated the latest comfort and safety thinking in terms of ventilation, crumple zones and collapsible steering columns.

Six engines were available initially, ranging from a 55bhp 200D to the 130bhp 250 straight-six, and all of them were overhead-camshaft and maintained the Daimler-Benz tradition (in petrol-burning form) of efficient, high-revving units allied to low gearing in a relatively large bodyshell.

The Mercedes 250CE’s elegant lines have aged extremely well, augmented by the pre-facelift stacked bumpers

With the introduction in 1972 of the Bosch fuel-injected 280E flagship (using the twin-cam M110 engine), it was possible to buy a 126mph version of the ‘baby’ Mercedes that looked identical to the taxi-rank 220D, which was good for just 80mph flat-out and 0-60mph in 27 secs.

The four-speed manual and automatic ’boxes – with either column- or floor-shifter – were evolved from the previous models, complete with a fluid coupling (rather than a torque converter) in the automatics, which now pulled away in bottom gear rather than in second.

The really important news was to be found underneath, where semi-trailing arms – or ‘diagonal swing axles’, as Mercedes preferred to call them – had finally usurped the firm’s beloved low-pivot swing axles.

A sunblind adds to the 250CE’s period look

Combined with larger, 14in wheels, anti-roll bars and new ball-jointed, sealed-for-life anti-dive front suspension, the result was a nimbler car that was naturally more stable in all situations than its predecessors, with much less sensitivity to camber changes.

All models had servo-assisted disc brakes on all four wheels, but, surprisingly, radial tyres were optional at first.

The W114/115 managed to ride almost as well as its larger brother, while preserving the virtues of a tight turning circle and huge boot that pleased the German taxi trade, for whom these cars are still legendary.

The 148bhp ‘six’ in this 250CE gives effortless pace

When the W123 replaced the Strich Acht in 1976, a significant number of cabbies picketed the Untertürkheim plant for the reinstatement of the older model.

At £2388 for a 220D, few British taxi drivers could justify a Mercedes in 1969.

Even so, the New Generation cars made the marque’s presence felt on the British high street, mostly in petrol-engined form, in the early 1970s.

The coupé shares some of the class of the more exclusive W111/112 range

The entry-level status of the range was rather misleading, though: even the four-cylinder 220 and 230 models cost as much a Jaguar XJ6 in the UK; you could have a lusty 120mph Rover 3500S for £1200 less and buy yourself a new Ford Cortina with the change.

And this for a 100mph car that was slower than a Chrysler 2 Litre, with a notchy manual gearbox and a rather cheerless – even bleak – cabin, trimmed in the firm’s indestructible MB-Tex (or velour, if your pockets ran to Stuttgart’s extensive but famously costly options list).

Items such as tinted glass, a radio, a rev counter and even seatbelts – standard on most rivals – were all cost-options that could add hundreds of pounds to the already hefty price-tag.

The Mercedes 250CE soaks up bumps

For those who bought into Mercedes’ reputation for quality, none of this mattered; the high initial cost was incidental to these buyers.

A Mercedes-Benz was an investment in engineering that would last you twice as long as the average car, and likely prove to be more reliable.

The firm’s advertising at the time pointed out that 78% of all its diesel-engined post-war cars were still on the road.

In North America, the 280E Sedan (as it was called in that market, complete with park-bench bumpers and sealed-beam headlights) had the best residuals of any luxury car.

The two-door Mercedes 280CE has a slightly larger boot (left); the front end up to the ’screen is shared with the saloon

Assembled here is a representative cross-section of what is hopefully now the slightly less bewildering W114/115 family, spanning the full eight years of production.

Colin Cummings’ 250 saloon was formerly owned by the singer Paul Weller, whom Colin has subsequently got to know and regularly asks to buy the car back. I can see why.

The 250 is handsome in its restrained livery and everything you expect a Mercedes saloon to be.

Its big steering wheel (with chrome horn ring), front-door quarterlights and pared-back interior detailing link it to the earlier models with which it shares virtues of superb vision, a commanding driving position and no wasted space or unnecessary distractions.

The coupés suffer slightly for rear legroom, but the large doors at least make it easy to get in and out

At 3000lb the 250 is not heavy by modern standards, and it handles neatly and effortlessly, with margins you would never get near to on the road.

I associate these cars with tappety engines, which need to be revved hard in order to extract decent performance, and lurching automatic gearchanges, but this one goes about its business briskly and unobtrusively.

It would be no chore to use daily, but might feel low-geared on the motorway at 17.7mph per 1000rpm.

The same goes for the rest of this underrated family of mid-sized saloons.

The Mercedes 280CE’s injected twin-cam 2746cc ‘six’ makes a useful 182bhp

Doors that shut as reassuringly as probably any car ever made are common to all versions.

Likewise the lack of rattles, along with excellent power steering and a resilient, if not super-cosseting, ride.

Tony Selini, who brought along his 250 and 280CE two-doors from Yorkshire, first fell in love with the model as a boy growing up in Iraq, where Saddam Hussein’s regime was offering a new W114 saloon – and a house – as a way of persuading the educated middle classes to not leave the country.

The C/CE body, introduced in 1969, was Stuttgart’s first attempt to make a coupé that was less rarefied than the hand-finished, low-volume W111 and W112 models.

The post-facelift Mercedes 230.4 wears a single-piece front bumper but sports few other material changes

The two-doors probably look better today than they did in period, but parts that are unique to these coupés can be hard to find, particularly body panels and rubber seals.

The styling is identical to the four-door up to the base of the windscreen, but the shorter, 1.8in-lower pillarless glasshouse gives the coupé a markedly different overall profile, with a dished roof panel that provides a visual link with the SL’s Pagoda hardtop.

As a payoff for the slightly larger boot and lower-set seating position, you get a touch less back-seat legroom in the coupés, but the long doors at least make it easy to access the rear cabin.

This Mercedes-Benz 230.4’s hard-wearing but unglamorous cabin is spotless

Gordon Blane’s deep respect for these cars began when he saw how they coped with conditions in his native South Africa, where the W114s and W115s were locally assembled.

Gordon bought his spotless 230.4 from its second owner here in the UK.

Being a post-1974 facelifted version it has a wider grille, a lower bonnet line and a single-piece front bumper, plus the ribbed, supposedly ‘self-cleaning’ tail-light lenses that, along with a padded four-spoke steering wheel, gave these later cars a visual relationship with the W116 S-Class.

The four-cylinder overhead-cam motor produces 110bhp

Powered by an oversquare in-line ‘four’ with a Stromberg carburettor and 110bhp, the 230 is an exceptionally smooth and self-effacing car, with excellent torque and performance not far adrift of the 250’s.

It exudes a feeling of competence and capability that makes it seem deceptively ordinary, but you would only have to spend a few minutes in that £1200 1972 Cortina to be disavowed of such a view.

Aviv Screwvala took eight years to find himself a rust-free 240D as a running mate for his ex-Indira Gandhi W123 300D.

The Mercedes 230.4 feels impressively smooth to drive

Having replaced all of the suspension rubbers with genuine Mercedes-Benz parts – and got the all-important fuel pressures spot-on – Aviv now has something close to an ideal ULEZ-dodging 40mpg London classic that in many ways is the most surprising of these cars.

It exceeds just about every expectation – although mine were, admittedly, pretty low.

Firstly, the 2.4-litre engine, while obviously an oil-burner with a 22:1 compression ratio, doesn’t rattle or vibrate excessively.

Once under way – having negotiated the operation of the start/stop knob – you almost forget that you are driving a near-50-year-old diesel.

The Mercedes 240D is disarmingly smooth and vibration-free, and more lively than you might expect, too

The pace builds quite quickly and doesn’t feel laboured.

Like its petrol-engined siblings, the 240D is light and pleasant to handle, with an easy manual gearchange, a light clutch and nicely weighted power steering.

It accelerates very respectably and feels much livelier than you anticipate – or, indeed, than the road testers of the day suggested.

Aviv is adamant that the 240D is better to drive than his 300D in every respect bar its ride quality.

This frugal, diesel-powered classic Mercedes-Benz returns 40mpg

If these days the W123 family tends to get more column inches than its predecessor, it is probably because they remain a more visible presence on the roads; yet in every way this famously rugged example of ‘peak Benz’ was nothing more or less than a tweaked, massaged and reskinned update of the original W114/115 concept, but for wider international tastes.

Born in the 1960s but designed to take on the challenges of the ’70s, the W114/115 was less of an international product than the W123, built to satisfy the tastes of its home audience first and foremost.

Both cars were the result of huge research-and-development resources, but the W123 that followed reaped the benefit of a more concerted worldwide marketing effort that, in an odd way, still works in the model’s favour today.

The manual ’box in this Mercedes 240D works well

Somewhere amongst all this, the appeal and historical importance of the slightly severe and Teutonic W114/115 became lost.

The good news is that they remain, for now, one of the last true bargains of the classic Mercedes world – if you can find one.

The truth is that these otherwise indestructible motor cars rusted away as badly as anything else, which at least goes to prove that even Mercedes-Benz didn’t always get it right.

Images: Luc Lacey

Factfiles

Mercedes-Benz W114/W115 series

Sold/number built 1968-’76/1.8m
Construction steel unitary
Engine iron-block, alloy-head, single carb or injection: sohc 1988/2197/2307cc petrol ‘four’; sohc 2292/2496/2778cc petrol ‘six’; dohc 2746cc petrol ‘six’; 1988/2197/2404cc diesel ‘four’; 3005cc diesel ‘five’
Max power 55bhp @ 4200rpm to 182bhp @ 6000rpm
Max torque 93lb ft @ 2400rpm to 175lb ft @ 4500rpm
Transmission four/five-speed manual or four-speed automatic, RWD
Suspension independent, at front by wishbones, anti-roll bar rear semi-trailing arms; coil springs, telescopic dampers f/r
Steering recirculating ball, optional power assistance
Brakes discs, with servo
Length 15ft 4½in (4686mm)
Width 5ft 10½in (1791mm)
Height 4ft 9in (1448mm) [C/CE: 4ft 7in (1397mm)]
Wheelbase 9ft ¼in (2750mm)
Weight 2978-3324Ib (1351-1508kg)
Mpg 39/17 (220D/280E)
0-60mph 27 secs/10.1 secs (220D/280E)
Top speed 82-125mph
Price new £2296/£7102 (220D, 1969/280CE, 1976)
Price now £5-30,000*