The 1975-1986 Mercedes-Benz W123 was one of the most reliable production cars ever built, which means many of us tend to think of sensible (i.e., stodgy) gazillion-mile diesel sedans when we picture this car. We shouldn’t forget that the folks in Stuttgart also built (slightly) devilish W123 personal luxury coupes with potent gasoline engines, and I’ve found a well-preserved example of such a car in a Denver-area self-service car graveyard.
The W123 was the successor to the W114/W115 and the immediate ancestor of the car that became the first Mercedes-Benz to get the official E-Class designation.
The W123s were built so well and beloved by their owners so much that plenty of them are only now wearing out and showing up in the Ewe Pullet-type boneyards of North America. I find so many discarded W123s these days that I only document the more interesting ones (mostly extreme-high-mile cars).
While the hardtop coupe versions of the W123 and (proto-S-Class) W126 were available for years in the United States, they were a bit too rakish for your typical Mercedes-Benz shopper of their era.
At the same time, the W123 coupe seemed too stolid for many of those Americans looking for a new high-roller-grade European luxury coupe. For them, big white-powder-dusted two-doors such as the BMW 7 Series, Porsche 928 and Jaguar XJ-S beckoned. That means that these Mercs are junkyard (and street) rarities today.
When the W123 first showed up in the United States as a 1977 model, it was available only in four-door sedan form. The W123 coupe arrived here the following year, with the W123 station wagon first appearing in North America as a 1980 model.
Buyers could get the W123 coupe with a diesel engine (the 300 CD), but this car has the much sportier 2.8-liter DOHC straight-six, rated at 140 horsepower and 145 pound-feet. Since the curb weight was just over 3300 pounds, that made this car respectably quick for the era.
Europeans could get their gasoline-burning W123s with manual transmissions in 1981, but their U.S.-market counterparts had to take the four-speed automatic.
The MSRP for a new 1981 280 CE was $30,314. That’s about $112,010 in 2025 dollars. These cars were not for the thin of wallet!
The tough MB-Tex seat upholstery still looks good, but that’s no surprise.
Surprisingly, a right-side mirror wasn’t standard equipment. This car doesn’t have one.
1981 was the final model year for the W123 coupe in North America; Europeans could buy the 230 CE and 280 CE through 1985.
As you’d expect, this promotional video for the W123 coupe begins at the golf course.
I bought a wrecked 1981 300D from an insurance auction. I have the worn emblem just like in the 2nd picture hanging above my computer as I’m reading this article! They are really handsome cars, but after dismantling it, man are they intricate.
This looks to be in very good condition. I f someone wanted to do a MB project this one looks like it has a fairly good beginning.
