Mercedes-Benz W111

Mercedes-Benz W111
Manufacturer	Mercedes-Benz
Also called	Mercedes-Benz Fintail
Production	1959 — 1968
Predecessor	Mercedes-Benz Ponton
Class	full-size sedan
Body style(s)	4-door sedan 2-door coupe 2-door convertible
Engine(s)	2.0L 4-cylinder 2.2L straight-6 3.0L straight-6 3.5L V8 (Coupé and convertible)

See Mercedes-Benz S-Class for a complete overview of all S-Class models.

The "Fintail" (German: Heckflosse) was a series of luxury cars produced by Mercedes-Benz from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s under the W111 chassis code. Though never officially designated as such (they were designated Peilstege, marking the end of the car in rear view mirror), the cars gained the nickname because of the distinctive rear-end which incorporates small tailfins, thought to be an understated attempt to appeal to the United States market at the time (with their outrageously finned cars, such as the Cadillacs and Buicks of the times). The Fintail is considered part of the lineage of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class flagship model, particularly the initial 6-cylinder W111 and more luxurious W112 models. A 4-cylinder version, the W110, was introduced in 1962. In the S-Class lineage, the Fintail models were succeeded by the larger W108/W109 lines.

The Fintail models were pioneers of the automotive safety feature of crumple zones, which absorb the energies of a collision. The idea for crumple zones came from Bela Barenyi who worked as an engineer for Mercedes-Benz.^[1]

Models

W111 230S Fintail sedan

The fintail models consisted of three basic platforms:

• W111 - Standard 6-cylinder luxury cars, introduced in 1959
• W112 - Ultra-luxurious variants with air suspension, introduced in 1961
• W110 - Cheaper, 4-cylinder models with a shortened hood, introduced in 1962; "Kleinflosse" in German

As is standard practice for most automobile manufacturers, several different engine combinations and interior trim options were applied to the basic platforms, to create many different models

Sharp fin on a W110 190D

First Series (1959-1965)

Second Series (1966-1968)

1966 280 SE

Soft fin on a W111 280SE Coupe

The second series was introduced into production in August of 1965. The large W112 models were no longer needed since the W100 limousines were well-established by then, though the coupe and convertible continued in production for a few more years. The 300SE sedan model was now to be found in the brand new S-klasse series, W108/W109.

All engines were refreshed at this time, with the W110 190 giving way to the 200, 200D and 230 and the W111 220b/Sb/SEb making way for the 230S sedan and 250SE/280SE coupe and convertible.

• 1965–1968 230 S Sedan - model W111
• 1965–1967 250 SE Coupé - model W111
• 1965–1967 250 SE Convertible - model W111
• 1968–1971 280 SE Coupé - model W111
• 1968–1971 280 SE Convertible - model W111
• 1968–1971 280 SE 3.5 Coupé - model W111
• 1968–1971 280 SE 3.5 Convertible - model W111
• 1965–1967 300 SE Coupé - model W112 (luxurious version, with air suspension)
• 1965–1967 300 SE Convertible - model W112 (luxurious version, with air suspension)
• 1965–1968 200 Sedan - model W110 (cheaper, 4-cylinder variant)
• 1965–1968 230 Sedan - model W110
• 1965–1968 200D Sedan - model W110 (diesel version)

Model timeline

References

1. ^ Independent article - crumple zone development

• Mercedes-Benz U.S Models. Hiwaay.net. Retrieved on December 1, 2005.
• Deutsche Autos 1945 - 1975, W. Oswald, ISBN 3-87943-391-7

External links

• http://www.heckflosse.nl/
• The Heckflosse Project - Our Mercedes-Benz 220Sb restoration project, at Classic & Dream Cars

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