Mercedes-Benz W128 - Misplaced Pages

Motor vehicle

Mercedes-Benz W128
Mercedes-Benz 220 SE Sedan (W128)
Overview
Manufacturer	Mercedes-Benz
Production	1958–1960 3,916 built
Assembly	West Germany Port Melbourne, Australia
Body and chassis
Class	Luxury car (F)
Body style	4-door sedan 2-door coupe 2-door cabriolet
Related	Mercedes-Benz W105 — 219 Mercedes-Benz W180 — 220a, 220S
Powertrain
Engine	2.2 L M127 I6
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,820 mm (111.0 in) — sedan 2,700 mm (106.3 in) — coupé or cabriolet
Chronology
Predecessor	Mercedes-Benz W105
Successor	Mercedes-Benz W111

The Mercedes-Benz W128 is a 6-cylinder luxury car produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1958 to 1960 and marketed as the Mercedes-Benz 220 SE. It was available in sedan, coupé, or cabriolet body styles, and it was the last new model of the "Ponton" range which had design and styling roots beginning in 1953 with the Mercedes-Benz 180 sedan (W120 chassis). It was largely identical to its 220 S predecessor, except for having petrol injection, 'Einspritzung' in German, reflected in the additional E in its 220 SE designation.

The 220 SE featured a unitized body/frame construction and fully independent suspension. All models were fitted with Mercedes' M127 2.2 L (2195 cc) straight 6 gasoline engine with aluminum head, overhead camshaft, and Bosch mechanical fuel injection. This was done by intermittent inlet manifold injection (like the 300 d) and meant that the 2.2-liter engine now produced 115 HP. An automatic clutch was available with the column-mounted 4-speed manual transmission.

At the time, the cabriolet was priced similar to Cadillac's top-end Eldorado Biarritz (DM 23,400/$8,091). Nearly every interior surface of the coupé and cabriolet was covered in wood or leather, and matching leather luggage was available. However, power steering, windows, air conditioning, and an automatic transmission were not available. The W128 was succeeded by the "Fintail" series starting with the W111 line.

Production

The W128 sedan was produced from October 1958 to August 1959 and the Coupé and Cabriolet from July 1958 to November 1960.

Body	Units
Sedan	1,974
Coupé	830
Cabriolet	1,112

220SE Sedan
220SE Coupé
220SE Cabriolet
220SE Cabriolet interior

Later models

The 220 SE model designation lived on for a few more years with the 1959 220 SEb "fin-body" sedans and the 1961 220 SEb coupé and cabriolet (chassis W111).

References

Notes

Deutsche Autos, Band 4, 2001, pp. 31–38.
"An Australian Mercedes-Benz?". MB Spares and Service. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
Covello, Mike (2002), Standard Catalog of Imported Cars 1946-2002 (price for 220SEb), Iola, WI: Krause Publication, p. 531, ISBN 0-87341-605-8
www.mbzponton.org Retrieved 22 September 2016

Bibliography

Hartmann, Matthias (2017). Das große Mercedes-Cabrio-Buch [The Big Mercedes Cabrio Book] (in German) (reprint of the original 1992 ed.). Königswinter, Germany: Heel Verlag. ISBN 9783958435810.
Oswald, Werner (2001). Deutsche Autos [German Cars] (in German). Vol. Band 4: 1945–1990 Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche und andere . Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag. pp. 31–38. ISBN 3613021315.
Staud, René (photographs); Lewandowski, Jürgen (text) (2016). Mercedes-Benz: The Grand Cabrios & Coupes. Kempen, Germany: teNeues. ISBN 9783832732936.