Comments about this vehicle

Author	Message
merc108 ◊ 2006-01-19 03:40	looks like a 1969 280SE
truckface ◊ 2006-03-24 11:04	What kind of guy paints a classic Mercedes like this
antp ◊ 2006-03-24 11:27	It is not one of the original colors?
Ralph ◊ 2006-03-24 17:32	Its original MB paint ~racingorange
Junkman ◊ 2006-03-24 18:10	I actually quite like the color. Certainly not for the introvert. It has single exhaust, whereas the 280 SE had twin. My guess is hence 280 S (W108). It is not a W109, since the rear doors are a tad longer on those.
antp ◊ 2006-03-24 18:51	junkman wrote I actually quite like the color. Me too. And I really like these old Mercedes-Benz with the hubcaps that are the same color than the car. I remember that these models of MB were quite common when I was yong (in the 80s then), but now they are rare
truckface ◊ 2006-06-18 11:20	Well, for Liberace this would have been a nice car. I`d say that blue would have been a better color for this..... -- Last edit: 2006-06-18 11:22:55
lightfoot1976 ◊ 2006-09-19 17:53	have you seen the movie?, who cares what colour looks good, that car gets messed up well and truly
Skid ◊ 2007-01-16 01:07	I'd say he actually succeeded in damaging every single part on this car...and for no good reason to boot. I never understood this scene in the film, to be honest. He even managed to run under a truck trailer hauling lumber and dent the center of the roof panel in.
ferrariphill ◊ 2007-07-14 21:27	Skid,I think the idea,was to show the guys in the car how well he could drive by deliberately missing the pillars in the car park and then knocking off the water taps on the wall to show his precision.He then smashes their car to pieces to punish them for having the afront to question his driving ability.
crazyforcars12 ◊ 2007-08-30 11:23	http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=yOAZKiz9Oho
Mercedes Maniac ◊ 2012-07-02 04:39	Unfortunate that this car ended up getting messed up...
Scara ◊ 2013-02-19 22:54	Here is an article which explains that the car is a 1970 (and not 69) 280S W108. This article also shows the paint codes for the W108 series : I can't find the "racing orange". Maybe the car was resprayed ? Link to "www.peachparts.com"
Ingo ◊ 2013-02-19 23:31	scara wrote I can't find the "racing orange". Maybe the car was resprayed ? Link to "www.peachparts.com" Yes, it was -very badly- resprayed. You see that on the pic, where the bumper was torn off. "Racing orange" was not in the W108-colour range.
durango95 ◊ 2013-06-10 09:40	Jeremy Clarkson watched this scene constantly as a youth and that's how he learned to drive.
mike962 ◊ 2013-12-05 13:18	35:02 36.00 -- Last edit: 2013-12-05 13:54:52 (walter)
andrepa ◊ 2013-12-05 15:56	reminds of first Mercedes crash testbeds in similar orange Link to "autopixx.de" -- Last edit: 2013-12-05 15:57:11
dsl ◊ 2014-09-30 21:59	mike962 wrote 36.00 250 S badge, not 280. Dating implications?? And where does that leave the detailed calculations at Link to "www.peachparts.com" ?? Or more than one car with an additional 250 S tarted up to look like a proper 70 280 S??
dsl ◊ 2014-09-30 22:03	..... and compare the grilles for the number of horizontal dividers mike962 wrote 35:02 36.00 - there's one more in the dented grille.
rjluna2 ◊ 2014-09-30 22:17	Could they have at least two different cars for this production?
bhomburg ◊ 2021-07-22 18:10	rjluna2 wrote Could they have at least two different cars for this production? That's what I think as well. Either that or the car was meticulously repaired between takes, which I personally would discard as the amount of body work required to repair this kind of damage so the car appears undamaged for the next scene would require way more time and budget than available for this movie. Most obvious cue that more than one car has been used for this movie: The scene where the bumper is torn off at 36:36. This definitely was shot in more than one take with more than one car. In one take, it's clearly visible that the car has been subjected to a superficial respray, as evident by the gray primer visible when the rear bumper was torn off - as mentioned upthread already. Then there's a cut, and in the next scene it's equally visible that the damage to the body was done to original paint - look at how the same area behind the rear bumper suddenly appears body-colored with no sign of primer gray, and the damage to the rear quarter panel shows bare sheetmetal where the paint was peeled off when he hit the concrete. Also, the damage displayed in this scene does not align with the damage displayed in the previous scene - look at how the the position of the chrome trim and the rear light assembly differs markedly between takes. Then, the door handles were the very first thing to go on the car when he precision-hit the sprinklers with them (36:29). Yet, the door handles are shown intact much later on, where he hit the front (37:02). Then, they were shown off again 15 seconds later. And finally- those pesky orange-painted wheels. When he drove head-on into the wall early on, the car definitely doesn't have orange wheels, the closeup reveals that clearly. Later on, orange-painted wheels appear first on the left front, and subsequently on all corners of the car, which shouldn't be visible as he only lost the left front wheel cover during the whole joyride, not all of them. All in all, I believe there have been at least two vehicles, one of them originally in orange, the other one painted to match. As to what model and year - well, I believe it's a 1968 model, either a 250S or a 280S, based on that it does have side marker lights (added for 1968) but does not have factory headrests, which were standard equipment for 1969 onwards, seeing the federal mandate went into effect from Jan 1, 1969. And there's no visible holes for the support beams in the upper part of the front seats at all which should be the case if it was a 1969 or newer model where the headrests have simply been removed. Those should be able to be seen in the short scene showing the front seats when their driver gets out of the car when they first meet (35:19). The person on peachparts linked above basing his "must be 1970" conclusion primarily on the license plate - well, it's a movie car, and movie cars, at least in Hollywood A-movies like this one generally do not feature real plates. Disclaimer: I have watched this movie and especially this scene countless times over the years. It remains one of my favorites. -- Last edit: 2021-07-22 18:19:39
rjluna2 ◊ 2021-07-22 18:48	Apparently, these sidemarkers are reflectors only, not illuminated/reflectors version here I may need to re-review the sequence here sometimes
bhomburg ◊ 2021-07-22 22:08	Right, this W108 has just reflectors, not lights. Which would make an even stronger case for the car NOT being a 1970 model, as FMVSS 208 rules required side marker reflectors or lights from 1968, and was amended to require reflectors and lights from 1970, which was when MB complied and changed the reflectors for lights (amber in front, red in the rear) for the respective model year in September before the new regs went into effect. MY 1966 and 1967: clean sheetmetal, no side markers at all MY 1968 and 1969: Side marker reflectors (flat) like on this car MY 1970-1972: Side marker lights I`d rate the probability the car really is what it says very high - a 250S. And the side markers give it away as 1968 (the last year that engine was available). -- Last edit: 2021-07-23 12:28:45
mike962 ◊ 2024-04-02 12:19	in audio commentary it's mentioned that 3 of them were used, but after they wrecked all 3 they had to source another one for some final shots -- Last edit: 2024-04-02 12:19:12

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1970 Mercedes-Benz 280 S [W108]

1970 Mercedes-Benz 280 S [W108] in The Driver, Movie, 1978

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