The Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3 is a full-sized luxury performance car built by Mercedes-Benz from 1968 to 1972. It featured the company's powerful 6.3-litre M100 V8 from the flagship 600 (W100) limousine installed in the normally six-cylinder powered (but still premium) Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL (W109). The result was a nearly 2-ton sports sedan with muscle car performance. At the time of its release it was one of the world's fastest four-door cars.
A total of 6,526 300 SEL 6.3s were produced, and though quite costly to maintain are very collectible today.
Concept
The car started out as a private venture in 1966 by company engineer Erich Waxenberger in response to a journalist of German automotive magazine Auto, Motor und Sport, who had described Mercedes-Benz cars as great, but not very exciting, describing them as "granny cars". His principle was simple: take the powerful 6.3 litre Mercedes-Benz M100 V8 from the massive 600 saloon and limousine, and fit it into the engine bay of the top-end 6-cylinder 300 SEL W109 model. The result was an impressive level of performance for the era and for the style of automobile. He then invited many company directors, including his direct boss Rudolf Uhlenhaut, to take a test drive in the otherwise unassuming-looking car. Uhlenhaut was positively impressed, and gave the project his approval.