1971 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 Cabriolet

111.027-12-004164roadGermany

Engine: 3.5L V8, numbers-matching
Colour: Tobacco Brown

A final-year Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 Cabriolet, completed in April 1971 and delivered new through a New York dealership. Finished in Tobacco Brown over Cognac leather, this numbers-matching example retains its original V-8 engine and factory specification. Its documented life spans dealerships across the eastern and western United States, with later domicile in Europe. Now showing approximately 87,500 miles, it has been maintained throughout and received a modest cosmetic refresh during its Oregon tenure.

Ownership

—Auction sale
Sold US$302,000
RM Sotheby's catalogue lot →
→ 1971-04-01Factory delivery
Rallye Motors (dealer), Glen Cove, New York
partial documentation
Authorized dealer through which the car was delivered new to its first retail owner.
1971-04-01 →Factory delivery
First retail owner, New York or Vermont area
partial documentation
Warranty records confirm early servicing at the selling dealership and at a garage in Woodstock, Vermont over the first few years of ownership.
→ 1979
Owner in Albuquerque, New Mexico area
partial documentation
By 1979 the car was being serviced locally in Albuquerque with roughly 54,200 miles on the odometer.
→ 2020Acquisition unknown
Pennsylvania-based owner
partial documentation
Car was held in Pennsylvania before being acquired by the consignor in 2020.
2020 →Private sale
Current consignor
partial documentation
Purchased from the Pennsylvania owner and subsequently kept in France and Portugal; over $6,000 in servicing including new tires was carried out in 2023.
Date unknown
Owner in Wichita, Kansas area
partial documentation
Service visits recorded at a local Mercedes specialist; car was moving westward across the US at this stage.
Date unknown
Owner in Phoenix, Arizona area
partial documentation
Serviced at a German auto specialist in Phoenix during this period of westward relocation.
Date unknown
Oregon-based owner
partial documentation
Around the turn of the millennium the car was based in Oregon; this custodian undertook cosmetic work including seat reupholstery in period-correct leather, door and dash panel recovering, new wool carpeting, and fresh seals.

Competition

No competition history extracted from the catalogue.

Maintenance & restoration

1971Service
Rallye Motors / Gerrish Motors
Routine early-life servicing recorded in the original warranty book at the supplying dealership and at Gerrish Motors in Woodstock, Vermont.
1979Service
European Imports
Service recorded at European Imports in Albuquerque, New Mexico with approximately 54,200 miles on the odometer.
2023
Service
Comprehensive service work totalling over $6,000, including fitment of new tyres, carried out while the car was based in Europe under the current owner.
—Service
Scholfield Bros. / German Auto Service
Subsequent documented service visits at Scholfield Bros. in Wichita, Kansas, then at German Auto Service in Phoenix, Arizona.
Mileage progression through these visits not individually specified.
—
Restoration
Mild interior cosmetic refresh during the Oregon ownership period: front seats reupholstered in correct Cognac leather, door and dashboard panels recovered, Wilton wool carpeting fitted, and new seals and weatherstripping installed.
Work is substantiated by invoices kept with the car; carried out around the turn of the millennium or shortly thereafter.

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