Junkyard Find: 1992 Mercedes Benz S 600 Carlsson… Oh Wait, 1989 560 SEC
The Mercedes-Benz W126 coupe was one of the cocainiest vehicles ever sold. and yet a Colorado-based owner of one of these machines felt compelled to rebadge their car as a Carlsson-modified V12-equipped W140. That car ended up in the Denver Pick Your Part last year, and I was there to document its fall from white-powder-dusted grace.
Mercedes-Benz didn't fully nail down the S-Class nomenclature to describe its oligarch-wagens until 1993, just to annoy everybody. There were coupe S-Classes through 2021.
W126 coupes (aka C126s) didn't sell nearly as well as their sedan brethren, so I have a tough time finding examples of these cars to shoot during my junkyard travels.
In fact, this is only the fifth discarded C126 I've documented since I started doing this job in 2007, after a 1983 380 SEC, a gray-market 1983 500 SEC, a 1987 560 SEC and a 1989 560 SEC.
That's why I was excited to find this car, but something seemed off when I gave it a closer look. These V12 badges, for example. Hey, shouldn't those characters be aligned differently?
I had a moment of excitement thinking that there was a slight chance someone had swapped an M120 V12 into this car (or, better still, a Jaguar or BMW V12), but a look under the hood showed an ordinary 5.5-liter M117 V8 still lived there.
Then I saw the aftermarket decklid spoiler decorated with S 600 badges off a W140 and I understood what was going on.
Carlsson Fahrzeugtechnik GmbH was a a German tuning outfit named after Swedish rally driver Ingvar Carlsson, known for doing interesting things with Mercedes-Benzes. After years of shaky finances and a spell of Chinese ownership, it was bought by Sambo Motors (a company "Driving the Future with Eco-friendly Automotive Parts") a decade ago but doesn't seem to be active today.
As you'd expect, Carlsson decals and badges are easily obtained online.
I'm all for people customizing their cars, but the C126 is one of the coolest Mercedes-Benzes of the 1980s and it seems cruel to try to make one resemble its less interesting successor. Sure, add some clear cornering lights, window tint and a body kit, but skip the emblems!
The wheels appear to be Touren TR9s, which are made to fit multiple bolt patterns.
Part of what makes the later C126 such a glorious piece of 1980s plutocratic history is that you just know most of them were bought new with money from some unsavory corner of the penumbral economy. I like to think that some bent banker bought this one after looting several shaky S&Ls in a classic "dead horses for dead cows" scheme.
The luxury coupes that stood as this car's main sales rivals were the BMW 6 Series and the Jaguar XJS. In theory, the Cadillac Allanté might be considered a C126 competitor as well.
The 1989 560 SEC had an MSRP of $80,090, which comes to about $214,293 in 2025 dollars. The 1989 BMW 633CSi and 1989 Jaguar XJS each listed at $47,000 ($125,738 after inflation), while the factory-hot-rod BMW M6 was $55,950 ($149,682 today). The 1989 Allanté cost $57,183 ($152,980 now).
As for power, this 5.5-liter SOHC V8 was rated at 238 horsepower and 287 pound-feet. The Jaguar's 5.3-liter SOHC V12 made 262 horsepower and 290 pound-feet, while the BMW M6's DOHC I6 put out 256 horsepower and 243 pound-feet. The Allante's High Technology 4.5-liter pushrod V8 sent 200 horses and 270 lb-ft to its front wheels.
Mercedes-Benz never put manual transmissions in production W126s with V8s, so a four-speed automatic was mandatory equipment in this car.
Mercedes-Benz was an early adopter of airbags, making driver's-side bags available as a W126 option in 1981 and standard equipment in US-market cars for 1985.
There appear to be successive layers of airbag-replacement stickers on the door jamb.
This power sunroof was standard equipment as well.
Why would you want a W140 instead of this?
That Japanese "dodge the clueless pedestrians" obstacle course looks like fun.
1989 Mercedes-Benz C126 in Colorado junkyard.
1989 Mercedes-Benz C126 in Colorado junkyard.
1989 Mercedes-Benz C126 in Colorado junkyard.
1989 Mercedes-Benz C126 in Colorado junkyard.
1989 Mercedes-Benz C126 in Colorado junkyard.
1989 Mercedes-Benz C126 in Colorado junkyard.
1989 Mercedes-Benz C126 in Colorado junkyard.
1989 Mercedes-Benz C126 in Colorado junkyard.
1989 Mercedes-Benz C126 in Colorado junkyard.
1989 Mercedes-Benz C126 in Colorado junkyard.
1989 Mercedes-Benz C126 in Colorado junkyard.
1989 Mercedes-Benz C126 in Colorado junkyard.
1989 Mercedes-Benz C126 in Colorado junkyard.
1989 Mercedes-Benz C126 in Colorado junkyard.
1989 Mercedes-Benz C126 in Colorado junkyard.
[Images: The Author]
Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Hagerty and The Truth About Cars.
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Fake badges are sad!
My brother Tassos would be proud.