Mercedes-Benz 200 D Heckflosse (W112)
Car-ID: XT0032
Vehicle Description
An well-kept, really chic “small fin” with diesel engine is coming up for auction!
This 200 D, built in 1966, has had five previous owners, the last of which held it for two years and is selling due to time constraints. The car is fit for daily driving, having just passed its general inspection in March 2015 without fault and travelled from Austria to Weiterstadt on its own wheels.
With approx. 21,000 km it is said to have received a replacement engine, which has identical specifications – 40 kW (55 hp) from 2 litres of displacement – to the original motor. It is shifted through a steering-column mounted gear lever.
The car wins you over with its harmonious appearance: well-preserved red paint, hubcaps in body colour, well-kept chrome parts, near-new tyres with white trim ring, white bakelite steering wheel. The interior is decorated in warm beige and brown, with red carpet, all in really attractive condition. The Mercedes features a contemporary radio, front centre armrest and swivel windows. The original owner’s manual is available.
“Don’t rush, but cruise” has always been the motto of diesel sedans from that era. Here’s a nearly 50-year-old feel-good example which can offer a relaxed gliding experience.
The vehicles colloquially referred to as “little tail fin” of the W 110 series were produced from 1961 to 1968. They belonged to the upper middle class of Mercedes and replaced the ponton series W120 / 121. Body, interior and luggage room sizes are substantially identical to the W111 series (“large tail fin”), which had entered the market in 1959.
All models have an unusual instrument panel with vertical roller speedometer (“clinical thermometer speedo”), where the display varies depending on the speed from yellow through red / yellow to red. All models also have the filler neck located behind the rear license plate, which folds down to allow access.
The body was characterized by a hitherto unknown passive safety: It had for the first time a stable passenger cell and effective deformable zones. Mercedes conducted extensive crash tests, in which a vehicle was pushed over a ramp at 80 km/h in order to make it roll over.
