500 Benz Fascination

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Sunday, January 27th, 2013

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500 Benz Fascination

You gotta love a car company that creates a propaganda film series called "Fascination" to promote its vehicles.

I can't find any such films for current Benz models, unfortunately, so maybe this endearing practice was left behind like the company's time-intensive pre-Chrysler production techniques...but there is a "Fascination" for the R129 SL-Class, and I've got a running commentary that starts right now.

0:28—I really enjoy how the R129 looks in profile at speed. It's as much archetype as automobile, a sui generis connect-the-dots shape that says "car" with perfect clarity.

0:35—Funny, that's basically what my driveway looks like.

0:48—Feels like longer than 30 seconds. The subsequent R230 only needs 16 seconds. But not bad for a design that dates to 1990.

0:59—Good thing they had the hardtop on for this exercise. Soft-top would have been shaking and swaying like a runaway stagecoach.

1:09—Is that pre-production camouflage on the nose? Great disguise, never would've guessed!

1:25—The suddenly German narrator could make absolutely any motor sound amazing. He could be talking about the 2013 VW Jetta's base 2.0-liter four and I'd be transfixed.

Come to think of it, everything sounds better in German, especially set to jaunty electronica. You should take a timeout and watch this as das Vaterland intended:

2:00—240 kilowatts equals 322 horsepower, the M119 V8's original rating. Later M119s were downgraded to 315 horses for reasons that I can never remember.

2:45—Note the banner on the wall: "Mercedes-Benz Unfallversuch." I looked that one up for you. "Accident research center."

4:24—The small, conservatively styled wheels are particularly striking on this red SL. Interesting pre-millennium period detail. I can't make out the exact design, but I bet they're 16-inchers, just like the wheels on the 500 Benz (below). Imagine a promo video for a $100,000 roadster today; no way the thing would have less than 19-inch wheels, and gaudy ones at that.

4:27—Oops. This is introduced in English as the new interior for 1995, but there wasn't one of those. The photo actually shows the 1999-2002 interior. You can tell it's newer than '95 because the climate-control unit has a digital display (introduced in '97), and you can tell it's '99-plus because that non-perforated Nappa leather, updated stereo head unit, and updated steering wheel all arrived for the 1999 model year. This particular cabin's metallic trim around the shifter and gauges initially had me thinking Silver Arrow (see informational video below), a special edition that was only offered for the R129's final model year, 2002. But the Silver Arrow's two-tone color scheme is missing, so I don't know what's going on there.

What, doesn't everyone know this much about their car?

4:38—Pretty amazing that the SL had brake-assist technology last millennium. This feature has only become common within the last five years or so, and only in luxury cars. In fact, Wikipedia says that Mercedes invented brake assist, and the first production recipients were the 1997 R129 SL-Class and W140 S-Class.

5:20—"As a timeless classic, it has now found its way into collectors' hands."