The Mercedes-Benz W116 S-Class is considered the genesis of the ‘best car in the world’ legacy that the Star’s flagship car enjoys. Luxurious, comfortable, and over-engineered to the point of building a brand for the brand. Especially when you’re talking about the Mercedes-Benz 450SEL. With a 6.9-liter V8 under the hood and self-leveling hydropneumatic suspension, the 450SEL was the flagship of the entire Mercedes lineup in the ‘70s.
Boasting a 0-60mph time of around 7 seconds and a top speed of 140mph, it was the fastest sedan in the world on its arrival. It also rode so incredibly well, that French director Claude Lelouch strapped a camera to the front bumper of one in 1976 to film footage which was later dubbed with the soundtrack of a Ferrari 275 GTB.
The resulting 8-minute-long short film racing through Paris, C’était un rendez-vous (translated to ‘It was a date’), became one of the first “viral” car videos. Lelouch let people believe it starred the Ferrari with a cryptic film poster, even though the car is never actually seen.
The film is so legendary that it even prompted Ferrari to get Lelouch to try and recreate the concept in 2020 with a disappointing short film starring the Ferrari SF90, Charles Leclerc, and Lelouch’s granddaughter in Monaco. Considering the stardom of the Mercedes-Benz 450SEL, maybe the film would’ve been better received if it had been shot with the Benz instead.
The 450SEL was no stranger to attention, either. James Hunt, Frank Sinatra, and Sophia Loren all owned one. The Hollywood starlet even had hers modified to a wagon to fit her dogs. It even starred alongside Robert De Niro in Ronin, another Hollywood classic known for its car chases.
When new, it was priced at around $23,000 in Europe, or $38,000 stateside thanks to a weak dollar, the 450SEL was over double the price of a regular S-Class. Today, the average price for a 450SEL stands at around $32,000. Considering the average value of a Ferrari 275 GTB is upwards of $2.5 million, the 450SEL represents amazing value for a car that did what a Ferrari couldn’t.
