The best car ever? Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC (C126)

YES

I had a 1990 560SEC I black with cream leather, loved that car😢

W116 was designed by Paul Bracq

I think this and the Lincoln continental have perfect symetry! And unlinke modern cars a lovely long boot! Instead of stupid cookie cutter shape fast/notch/hatch bubble shaped backs.

Having owned both a 500SE and a 560SL I actually prefer the noise the 5.0 litre V8 makes...

Interesting note: The 560 was never intended to be sold in the EDM. The 5.6 litre V8 was intended to be the NADM power counterpoint to the Euro 500

I'm sure Mercedes are making plenty of cash in 2023, but in terms of design and quality, and what the brand stands for, I feel they have really lost their way.
Now their cars are no better made than any other brand, and in terms of prestige, forget it.

Corrections / Answers:

The engine is with mechanical injection. Not electronic.
To be more specific; the Bosch Jettronic injection.

The horn button switch's from a mild city horn to a louder countryside horn.

The little remote by the seat is a pneumatic seat luxury. The letters determine what area of the seat are used, and the numbers are how hard the selected area in the seat is pressureized.

these old cars have a soul and a longevity you can only dream off in finding in newer cars

Town and country horn button?

The Lexus LS 400 and 430 were the best luxury cars ever made, Toyota V8 engines are bulletproof.

This over a Rolls anyday.

Only downside is the 15 mpg fuel economy.

The 116 was designed by Friedrich Geiger

Very nice car, superb design from Bruno Sacco (french guys knows how to design a Benz…) but « best car ever » certainly not.
Heavy, bad handling on little roads, expensive to maintain, under powered, slow automatic gear box, bad quality leather, rust issues on several points…
(Drove mine every day this twelve past years…)

You'll wish you were driving a Falcon/Fairmont when that Mercedes plays up.

Thank you for this vid onmy other car crush hangover from the 80s. I think I need to get one, throwing all counter-arguments aside. I hate seeing someone else in one no matter what car I'm in. Good vid! 🍺

German quality meets Italian sensibility.
Equals Perfection

This is a classic car. I drove one once but bought a 300sl instead. Another fabulous car. Great choice….

I strongly agree

The only downside with this perfect car today is the fuel economy, as with all the later beautiful CL.😢

I knew a man who drove around in a Mercedes. They had to rush him to the hospital and put him in a decompression chamber! He got the "Benz!" LOL 😁

You nailed it pal. I'm in Australia and have 2 W126, and they are just sensational machines. The over engineering of everything has proven worthwhile now. I love them, and the C126 is the perfect coupe equivalent.
Nice job mate 👍

I have a 1990 560 SEC and she still drives like a new car. Mine doesnt have the rear screen. Seems that Bruno Sacco wasnt interested in decent cupholders

big ?
pretty damn nimble compared to a w140 coupe, and better than a R129
and if you want to push it to the limit by removing absolutely everything unnecessary and still be legal to race or drive you can get it down to 1000Kg

if you are going to talk about one of these - do some research
so you know what you are talking about
instead of talking and making little sense to an owner
and pointing to the wrong things and guessing or saying you have no idea
and get that drooping head-lining fixed - it looks abysmal
probably due to leaking sunroof drains.

Chairmans car. The looks are classic, elegant and understated. Should have bought one when they were affordable.

Is there a place I can buy a rebuilt motor for my Mercedes

I have a 1983. 380SEC Mercedes, that is in great condition. Has a blown head gasket. Starts right up. All power windows, locks, and sunroof works

Stunner! Absolutely beautiful. If Mercedes reissued this car today, they would sell a bunch.

In central Florida, one of the locals is the Water Moccasin- a venomous snake with a bad temper. When I went to work at the Benz dealership, they warned me about them wandering from the pond and hiding in the parked cars. The first time I drove an SEC, I was unaware of the automatic seatbelt presentation. When the belt extended, it bumped my shoulder. And since the seatbelt was the color of those snakes, my life flashed before my eyes.

Was my teen dream to buy one of these. Triple black with steer horns on the bonnet.

This Mercedes Benz car still looks absolutely beautiful after all these years. The quality of the engineering and build quality are at a totally different level compared to the latest Mercedes cars

The more I see this car the more I like it ❤

My father had a280 ce beautiful moter

the dumbest cupholders. I had an old benz and that airline tray table is less useful than keeping a drink between your thighs

My favorite car of all time! I had a 1990 model in the same exterior color, however mine had Ash interior (light Gray). Those seat controls are for the pneumatic adjustable seats, lumbar support and adjustability. The quintessential road car. The seats were perfect for extended trips. I routinely did long trips between San Diego and Northern California. Performance was superb and ride comfort was second to none.

"not quite Jaguar standard" - Are you mad?

Yes I agree:
‘Exemplary’ is a word one cannot often use. & 64,000 miles??
My Man that is hardly run in..

These cars have not hit their peak ! It will be the car to have down the road

I have a 1990 in 9 out of 10 condition, with 10 being showroom. I love it. One issue with the old gals, the glue holding the headliner to the board loses its mojo. I had all the windows down, sunroof open. At about 90 mph the suction inside the cabin just pulled the headliner fabric free. OOPS.

this isnt that 2cv diarrohea..well frikkin' done!!! this is what i want to see Mr Hubnut, not some frikking 30 hp wooden piece of frogshit..you got it going now dude!!! you moving up..well FRIKKIN' DONE!!

Simple answer - NO! Had one, liked it but it is dated, does not handle very well, and is simply old technology. Parts will be an issue as well. Currently own a MB 500 SL Silver Arrow(2002) and it is a newer design but still suffers from the above issues. I like classic MB, but no way in hell are any of them "the best". No idea what is if I'm honest.....

Sing breaks constantly and is ipmossible to fix.

Only good in a museum

I dropped one of these into my beautiful W109 300SEL. It was an original early AMG with massive twin IHI turbos. 290kw in a classic W109 with stacked headlights. I also had a 560SEC like this, but gold colour.

Yes this is the second best car ever made. The W126 is the best car ever made due to 4 doors and also the car of my childhood as it was our family car. Interestingly our S class has the same exact color as this one. Brilliant!

The best car ever made is the 2005-2006 mercedes E320 CDI. I'm getting 40-50mpg on the open road running on vegetable oil. It's got incredible power, quiet, smooth ,reliable, long lasting. It doesn't consume any lubrication oil and these motor regularly get more then 1 million miles

You have to admit this is totally different don't you agree? Comparing to a few of your cars which are mostly 'out of service'...

Good car😜

Does anyone know if there is such a thing as a 300sec with a straight six? If that even exists then that's what I want.