1988 MERCEDES BENZ 450SEL. he car presented here is a very special Vehicle. Being a fully original. One-Owner. extremely low-mileage (90. 00!!) Southern California Benz. As pampered as they come. it's truly a dream come true for the serious Mercedes connoisseur! if you are a Benz fan this 420SEL is the one for you. Pure CLASS. ELEGANCE and COMFORT is what you get with this Mercedes. It has a plush leather interior with wood trim throughout. This is a sleek. sexy. and Classy automobile in great condition . The Mercedes is equipped with a 4. 2L V8 engine. mated to an automatic transmission. This powerful combo combines luxury and Elegance giving the Benz a very comfortable driving experience. Complimented in Astralsilber Metallic exterior and saddle leather interior surrounded with special wood grain trim. interior is in excellent conditionAstralsilber Metallic. nbsp; Premium options include: Premium sound system. nbsp; power sunroof. nbsp; climate control. silver aluminum alloy wheels. power steering and Front and rear air conditioning. leather and Center Console. Cruise control. Power steering. nbsp; Steering wheel telescopic. Radio: AM/FM. Tachometer. Enjoy this vehicle knowing that all scheduled maintenance performed on time and that it is always garage kept . Adult driven. Vehicles Engine & transmission runs like a dream like new - excellent mechanical and cosmetic condition. You will not find another 420SEL in this condition. Please feel free to contact me with any questions / picture requests: David (858) 733 1030HistoryFrom 1973 to 1975. Mercedes-Benz designers worked on the successor to the W116. In December 1975. after several design concepts being presented. the design for the W126 S-Class was approved and frozen in 1976. [5] Design work on the coupe began immediately afterward. being finalized in 1977. It premiered the next generation of Mercedes-Benz car styling. which came to dominate the lineup in the 1980s. Compared to its predecessor. the W116. the new model had more aerodynamic qualities than before. with a (drag coefficient of Cd 0. 36 for the sedans. 0. 34 for the coupés). [1] For the first time. a Mercedes-Benz sedan was not equipped with traditional chrome bumpers; polyurethane deformable bumpers were used. and visually aligned with body panels. [2] Design patents were first filed on March 3. 1977 and later on September 6. 1977 at the United States Patent Office. [6] The interior featured pleated leather on the doors on later cars and woodgrain trim on the center console and across the dash. and a simplified layout with symmetrically placed buttons. Both zebrano and burled walnut were used on low/mid and high-end cars. respectively. Following the debut of the 1970s generation W116 (which also included the flagship Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6. 9). Mercedes-Benz began plans for the next-generation S-Class model in October 1973. Codenamed "project W126. [1] the project had specific goals: an improved ride. better handling. and improved fuel efficiency. [2] These improvements were aimed at helping retain the S-Class' market leadership as the world's best-selling prestige luxury sedan. [1] Following the 1970s oil crisis. Mercedes-Benz had made fuel efficiency an especially pertinent goal (named "Energy Program"). 3] even in the large V8 engined versions of the S-Class. In terms of the body design. the objective of the W126 design team. led by Mercedes-Benz's Bruno Sacco. was to produce a car that was sleeker and more aerodynamic than the previous model. The application of lighter materials and alloys combined with thorough wind tunnel testing to reduce overall drag meant the car consumed about 10% less fuel than its predecessor. [2] The maximum speed was also increased (250 km/h in the most powerful model). [1] After six years of development. the W126 was formally introduced at the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (International Motor Show. or IAA) in Frankfurt on September 1979. The initial lineup featured seven models in standard (SE S-Klasse-Einspritzmotor. SD S-Klasse-Diesel) and long (SEL. SDL) wheelbase sedan body styles: the 280 SE/SEL. 380 SE/SEL. 500 SE/SEL and 300 SD. Technically. the long-wheelbase (SEL) variants were codenamed V126. but this was not popularly known. [1] In 1981. the coupé version C126 (SEC. acronym for (German language) S-Klasse-Einspritzmotor-Coupé) of the W126 S-Class premiered at the IAA with the 500 SEC model. In 1981. Wheels Magazine selected the W126 model 380 SE as its Car of the Year. [4] Four years after the introduction of the fuel-efficiency "Energy Program. the model range had been reworked completely. In September 1985. again at the IAA in Frankfurt. the reworked model range was reintroduced. Apart from visual changes to the bumpers. side covers and alloys. the changes made to the available collection of engine variants was most visible. Two newly constructed 6-cylinder engines and new 4. 2 and 5. 6 litre V8's were added. and other engines were further upgraded. The W126 generation was replaced by the W140 in 1991. although a satellite factory in South Africa is known to have continued production until 1994.