The W108 first arrived in the United States in 1965 and it was produced until 1972, right in the sweet spot for some of the best cars ever made. Unlike some other large luxury sedans from the era, the Mercedes does not look like a rolling coffin or something that would look more at home on a lake than on the street. Instead, the subtle bodywork and small stylistic touches indicate that a lot of care went into the entire vehicle from the design stage all the way to delivery in the customer’s driveway.
The W108 was designed by Mercedes stylist Paul Bracq who designed dozens of iconic cars for BMW, Citroen, and Peugeot. It was equipped with either an inline-six-cylinder model or a V8. But the Benz was absolutely not made to melt the tires off. It was meant to glide around. To simply “accelerate” is too jarring for a vehicle as posh as the W108. It wafts forward.
This body style from Mercedes is timeless in the same way that jazz is. A jazz piece recorded by Louis Armstrong in the 1920s still sounds good today, whereas other songs from the era may not translate. In the same way, a Mercedes W108 from almost 60 years ago still commands attention while an average Chevy from the same year may look dated.
