AUTONEWS

Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3 Coupé Pininfarina: an Italian-German masterpiece

The Mercedes-Benz coupé we are discussing here and which appears in the images is called the 300 SEL 6.3, designed by Pininfarina and commissioned by a Dutch businessman whose identity has never been revealed.

Its design began in the mid-1960s and culminated in its unveiling at the 1970 Paris Motor Show. Based on the W109 series, it was equipped with the iconic 6.3-liter V8 engine.

The idea that led to the creation of the 300 SEL 6.3 Coupé originated in the Netherlands, in the mind of a renowned Dutch businessman who, in the mid-1960s, was determined to obtain a two-door Mercedes-Benz with a body derived from the W109 sedan, the company's flagship at the time.

He therefore approached the German manufacturer, but they categorically refused to produce a completely custom design due to the high costs that this would entail.

After corresponding with the company, months later the entrepreneur first tried to buy a simple chassis, also without success, and then, privately and successfully, a new long-wheelbase sedan, already equipped with the 8-cylinder engine.

For all the aesthetic modifications, he then chose to hire a famous Italian coachbuilder, Sergio Pininfarina, who, however, initially refused, claiming that the chassis was not rigid enough, and only accepted the project a few months later, informing the client of a total cost of around 10,000,000 lire at the time, just over 5,000 euros today.

When the car arrived at Pininfarina's headquarters in Turin, the client presented several requests for customization, all documented on the original paper cards that remained with the car over time.

The entrepreneur asked the designer, for example, for a high driver’s seat, “like a Rolls-Royce”, combined with a reduced glass surface and a split, folding rear seat, as well as improved sound insulation.

Construction began in 1968 and, after skilful modifications by the Turin coachbuilder, the result was a revolutionary design, never before produced by the company.

As mentioned at the beginning, its first public appearance, in front of the press, was on the Pininfarina stand at the 1970 Paris Motor Show. The client subsequently took delivery of the coupé on February 10, 1971 and exported it to the Netherlands. Since then, it has been sold several times, most recently in August 2023 in the United States for $350,000.

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