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What was your first introduction to Mercedes power

Pazza85

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What was people's first introduction to Mercedes power

Mine was when I was 21, I had already started working for a small racing team in the British and World Formula 3. After two championships we switch from Renault engines to Mercedes, we then started winning championships.

Since then I had always wanted a Mercedes it only to another 17 years to get there finally 😂
 

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Back in 1998 I was picked up from Abu Dhabi Airport by my brother in law in his W140 S600.
Having a Ford Sierra Sapphire Cosworth at the time, I though it pretty quick but that S class just oozed power and comfort.
Add in the cream leather and near unbreakable engines, I was sold.
So was the Cossie and I started my ownership of various Mercedes in 2003 with a W210 E280 and progressed on with W211 E55 and W212 E63.
I'll be back in an AMG later this year. I've been away too long already at 2.5 years.
 
Off the top of my head I can’t remember driving or being driven in a Mercedes until we bought our first, a 2003 ML 270 CDi in 2004.
 
In all my years of car ownership and the various brands we'd owned and driven (all the way from an A30 to a V8 RR) I'd not even considered an MB until our local garage forecourted an S203, I thought "that looks like a lot of car for not a lot of money". Research showed the best engine was the 270Cdi, I found one and bought it to replace our daily driver Astra 1.8 diesel estate, loved it. Then MB came out with the 204, which looked lovely but outside my price range - until I was at local MB main dealer getting my winter tyres changed back to summer, saw a burgundy S204 on the forecourt, could not believe the spec and price, had to get approval from SWMBO for the "dark grey" interior (black would not have been acceptable!). That was March 2012 - it's still on our driveway as our main car! it's a C220Cdi Elegance, with full leather and lots of toys, comfortable, quick when required, economical, spacious and practical, longest time I've owned a car for in my entire life and may keep it until it or I hit the scrappers, or I finally decide my toy (R171 SLK280) has to go and we defer to 1 car.
 
The first Mercedes I drove was the new Mercedes c63s hybrid thing! But my passion for the brand started when one of our neighbours has a champagne gold Mercedes r107 partially covered and needing restoring just sat on their driveway. Driving past that car every day just made me really want one. So when I turned seventeen I saved up and got my S211. A champagne gold r107 280sl manual is on the future dream car list though.IMG_4977.jpeg
Picture: Dream car
 
The first MB I ever drove was a W110. Back in 1974, I was a student at university in Germany, and got invited on tour to Luxembourg with Eintracht Frankfurt (the rugby team, not the footballers!). The owner of the car decided he was too hung over to drive back to Germany, and thought there would be fewer problems if I drove, because I had a UK licence!
 
W126 420SE....mid 80s model in chocolate brown with brown velour type seats....class! Came in px at work with a full tank of fuel....so I smoked it about fir the weekend ....and then bought it. Only kept for a few months as the seats were awful.....flat, no support, felt like they were stuffed with cardboard and not at all comfortable. Pulled a good profit out of of it though IIRC. Owned that in the mid 90s....just like this...but I'm pretty sure mine was a darker colour. I was only 28 at the time!
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One of my primary school friends dad had a r107 450sl (I think) and we shot down the A128 at Pilgrims Hatch on the straight mile at breakneck speed wind blowing through my hair and I was hooked. 6 mercs later plus many more Alfas I’m addicted to the open road and a good car.
 
My introduction to Mercedes power was a new (in 1973) petrol engined 508 van which hauled all my sound gear around the UK and Europe. There were countless all night drives in this vehicle which never let me down.
2009-12-29_311.JPG
Probably the grandfather of today's Sprinter vans and lead to the ownership of 14 Mercedes cars over the years from 1989 (when I could afford a 124) to 2020 when I had a GLE.
 
W126 420SE....mid 80s model in chocolate brown with brown velour type seats....class! Came in px at work with a full tank of fuel....so I smoked it about fir the weekend ....and then bought it. Only kept for a few months as the seats were awful.....flat, no support, felt like they were stuffed with cardboard and not at all comfortable. Pulled a good profit out of of it though IIRC. Owned that in the mid 90s....just like this...but I'm pretty sure mine was a darker colour. I was only 28 at the time!
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Yeah I remember the seats in them exactly as you describe them. When I used to land at Heathrow in the mid 90s, the company I worked for had a couple of drivers on rotation to pick us up - one had a 280 like that, the other a 124. I remember flopping into the back and being serenely driven into West London and home.

Years later, when my wife was pregnant, she suggested I get something more grownup that the 200SX I was driving at the time. Tried a ropey E55, settled for a tidier C43.
 
Grew up being driven around in a car like this and was the first car I drove when I passed my driving test 230.6:
Screenshot_20250521_074837_Chrome.jpg

And also spent many hours being driven around in a w123 like this when i was little but a beige exterior :
Screenshot_20250521_074954_Chrome.jpg
 
I fell into mercedes ownership by default. After selling my last cobra I wanted a two door V8 convertable, which meant the Jag xjr, BMW m6 or SL, didn't like the BMW, thought the Jag too small inside so SL it was (an R230) on my second SL now, a R231, and love it.
 
What was people's first introduction to Mercedes power

Mine was when I was 21, I had already started working for a small racing team in the British and World Formula 3. After two championships we switch from Renault engines to Mercedes, we then started winning championships.

Since then I had always wanted a Mercedes it only to another 17 years to get there finally 😂
They were the family cars since I was a child ( I'm 67 now ) and when I passed my driving test , my dad handed his down to me as that gave him an excuse to buy himself another one !
 
Some 20 years ago or more we went in to have a look at the Nissan Terrano II and came out with that and the CLK Coupe, my first time with an automatic too.


CLK COUPE & TERRANO .JPG
 

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