1981 Mercedes Benz 380 SEL Sedan

The W126 S-Class Mercedes-Benz range was launched in 1979 with the object of retaining the title of the world's best luxury car through the Eighties. With greater attention to aerodynamics (the W126 had a class leading 0.36 Cd), plus a number of innovative safety systems like ABS and SRS airbags that helped make the Mercedes the first production car able to meet stringent new criteria for surviving a frontal offset collision. The critically acclaimed S-Class was also commercially successful and a total of 890,000 were sold worldwide in 13 years of production. The W126 range consisted of the 280SE/SEL six-cylinder base models and two V8 models, the 380SE/SEL and 500SE/SEL. In 380 guise, the car was powered by the M116 motor with alloy block, single overhead camshaft and Bosch fuel injection to give 204 bhp. All V8s were sold with the sophisticated four-speed automatic transmission that helped Mercedes-Benz retain high levels of performance without sacrificing fuel economy. Inside, the W126 range was typically well thought out and equipped with every luxury amenity available at the time, all built to the highest possible standards.