Probably the last registered 280 TE! Extremely opulent features!

Mercedes struggled for a long time to produce a suitable estate. It was regarded as being the preserve of the working class, and so the company only released small series’ of somewhat dowdy cars until the S123. But in its 123 series, Mercedes invented the lifestyle estate, the T-model. The company showcased its innovation with all its various motorisations - from the 240 TD for more leisurely drivers to the 280 TE for the race car pilots - at the International Motor Show in 1977. Today, the numbers of vehicles available on the market are drastically reduced, as they are frequently demoted to a life as building site cars as soon as they have switched hands two or three times.

This 280 TE was built in October 1985 and is one of the very late T-models. It catches the eye, especially due to its extravagant set of features. Besides the premium motorisation, it also included a special coat of paint in smoke silver metallic, anthracite nappa leather, mechanical sunroof, automatic gearbox with central gear shift, cruise control, central locking, ABS, automatic air conditioning, alloy rims, folding seats with headrests and much more! The 280 TE was never easy on the wallet, and the list above will have made it virtually unaffordable. Perhaps that was the reason why the Mercedes languished at the dealership for three long years until someone took pity. After all, it was not reregistered until 2 January 1989, probably as the last of its kind. In return, though, it was lovingly taken care of for all these years, as evidenced by the service booklet. More recently, the luxury estate was thoroughly overhauled, accompanied by an extensive photo documentation. Very few of its kind came with such lavish features, even fewer have survived - and here’s one of them!

VIN: WDB1230931F057931, mileage: 262,423 km (original), displacement: 2,746 cc/R6, power: 185 hp, colour: smoke silver-metallic/anthracite (leather), gearbox: 4-speed automatic, papers: Dutch papers and German roadworthiness test until 2019