There is reference above to 'Mercedes'but not sure what it is referring to, but doesn't matter. 1981 springs to my mind the release of the W126 SEC coupe. The sedan was a big leap in technology and today some argue it was the last 'built like no other car' Mercedes and released in 1979. Then in '81 that (to my eye) beautiful coupe body put on the great W126 chassis. I find the history interesting because you had the big 'S class' coupe in the W111 coupe of the 60's but then replaced by the W107 SLC coupe that ran alongside the W116 series of the 70's. It was a change in 'theme' to me where the W107 is based on the SL 'sports car', with a few extra inches in the chassis and a roof welded on it, but you sit low in it, climbing over big wide sill panels - more of a 2 + 2 feel. The SEC then returned to big coupe feel, which continued to the W140 of the 90's but then the big coupe theme disappeared until relatively recently.... probably gone again the way they change models these days! I went looking for a nice original early 80's picture in google images, but most were modified - only one i found was a shannons car! The other photos were taken in 1982 when the original owner of my blue 500SEC picked up his car from AMG - then a seperate modifying company. I have all the communication with AMG, where the owner ordered the car but then AMG picked it up from the factory and then pulled it apart again to modify it! That owner was Ian Cox who was in charge of our first F1 GP and the car in its day was No. 1 on SA GP plates. The plates sold recently for multiples of what the car is worth..... but I would take the car everytime! And the red one was Kym Aunger's car and No. 2 plate. Both cars still in Adelaide... but I digress!