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Cars and Transportation

Vintage: the Mercedes 280 E /8

September 14, 2016

The Mercedes 280 E /8 was aimed at customers for whom the S Class was just beyond reach. The series reached its zenith in 1972 with the 280 E sedan, powered by a newly developed 2.8-liter in-line 6-cylinder engine.

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Most of the 280s had a 4-cylinder engine under the hood. A newly developed 2.8 liter, in-line 6-cylinder engine gave the top-of-the-line model 185 horsepower - impressive for the time - and broke the key 200-kilometer-an-hour mark, reaching 100 km/h in just 9 seconds. But the 6-cylinders guzzled 14 liters of gas per 100 kilometers. In the early 1970s, the 280 was among the fastest sedans on German roads.