Mercedes-Benz Fintail (German : Heckflosse) is a nickname for saloon cars of the W110, W111, and W112 series produced by Mercedes from 1959 to 1968. These replaced the Ponton-series saloon cars introduced in 1953.
These series' modest tailfin-era styling reflected the US-led trend. In Mercedes terminology, the short rear fins were designated Peilstege (lit. 'bearing bars', from peilen ‘take a bearing, find the direction’ + Steg ‘bar’), [1] [2] parking aids which marked the end of the car for aid in backing.
The production series included:
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class, formerly known as Sonderklasse, is a series of full-sized luxury sedans and coupés produced by the German automaker Mercedes-Benz. The S-Class is the designation for top-of-the-line Mercedes-Benz models and was officially introduced in 1972 with the W116, and has remained in use ever since. The S-Class is the flagship vehicle for Mercedes-Benz, being positioned above the other Mercedes-Benz models.
The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a range of executive cars manufactured by German automaker Mercedes-Benz in various engine and body configurations. Produced since September 1953, the E-Class falls as a midrange in the Mercedes line-up, and has been marketed worldwide across five generations.
The Mercedes-Benz 600 (W100) is a line of ultra-luxury cars produced by Daimler-Benz from 1963 to 1981. The forerunner of the modern Maybach marque, the Grosser Mercedes succeeded the Type 300d "Adenauer" (W189) as the company's flagship model. It was positioned above the subsequent 300-series (W112) in price, amenities, and status. In 1963 the Mercedes-Benz 600 was the most expensive car in the world. Its few competitors included British and American equivalents such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Lincoln Continental, Cadillac Series 75, and Imperial. It was well known for its ownership among celebrities and political leaders and royalty throughout the late 20th century. Many experts and enthusiasts consider it to be the greatest luxury vehicle ever made. Even today owning a Mercedes-Benz 600 can be very expensive and extremely costly to maintain, they can cost as much as 3.5 million dollars.
The tailfin era of automobile styling encompassed the 1950s and 1960s, peaking between 1955 and 1961. It was a style that spread worldwide, as car designers picked up styling trends from the US automobile industry, where it was regarded as the "golden age" of American auto design and American exceptionalism.
The Mercedes-Benz W128 is a 6-cylinder luxury car produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1958 to 1960 and marketed as the Mercedes-Benz 220 SE. It was available in sedan, coupé, or cabriolet body styles, and it was the last new model of the "Ponton" range which had design and styling roots beginning in 1953 with the Mercedes-Benz 180 sedan. It was largely identical to its 220 S predecessor, except for having petrol injection, 'Einspritzung' in German, reflected in the additional E in its 220 SE designation.
The Mercedes-Benz W120 and Mercedes-Benz W121 are technically similar inline-four cylinder sedans made by Daimler-Benz. The W120 was first introduced by Mercedes-Benz in 1953. Powered initially by the company's existing 1.8 liter M136 engine, it was sold as the Mercedes-Benz 180 through 1962. From 1954, Mercedes-Benz also offered the W120 with a diesel engine as the Mercedes-Benz 180 D. The Mercedes-Benz W121 was introduced as the Mercedes-Benz 190 in 1956, powered by a 1.9 liter M121 engine. From 1958, the W121 was also offered with an OM621 engine, sold as the Mercedes-Benz 190 D through 1961.
The 1961 introduced W110 was Mercedes-Benz's standard line of mid-size automobiles for much of the 1960s. As part of Mercedes' unified platform of "Fintail" models – first introduced as a six-cylinder Mercedes W111 in 1959 – the W110 followed in April 1961, initially available with either 1.9 L M121 gasoline or 2.0 L OM621 diesel inline-four engines. The W110 was introduced as the 190c and 190Dc sedans, replacing the W120 180c/180Dc and W121 190b/190Db.
The Mercedes-Benz W114 and W115 are the internal designations Mercedes-Benz used for a generation of front-engine, rear-drive, five-passenger sedans and coupés introduced in 1968, with three-box styling by Paul Bracq — succeeding the W110 models introduced in 1961; and manufactured until model year 1976, when the W123 was released.
The Mercedes-Benz R107 and C107 are sports cars which were produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1971 until 1989, being the second longest single series ever produced by the automaker after the G-Class. They were sold under the SL (R107) and SLC (C107) model names in a variety of names indicating the displacement of the engines.
The Mercedes-Benz W108 and W109 are luxury cars produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1965 through to 1972. The line was an upgrade of the Mercedes-Benz W114/W115, to succeed the W111 and W112 fintail sedans. The cars were successful in West Germany and in export markets including North America and Southeast Asia. During the seven-year run, a total of 383,361 units were manufactured.
The Mercedes-Benz W111 was a chassis code given to a range of Mercedes-Benz vehicles produced between 1959 and 1971, including four-door saloons (1959–1968) and two-door coupés and cabriolets (1961–1971). Their bodywork featured distinctive tailfins that gave the models their Heckflosse nickname — German for "fintail".
The Mercedes-Benz "Ponton" series is a range of sedans / saloon car models from Daimler-Benz, introduced starting in 1953, and subsequently nicknamed 'Ponton', referring to its ponton styling, a prominent styling trend that unified the previously articulated hood, body, fenders and runnings boards into a singular, often slab-sided envelope. At the time, Mercedes itself did not refer to any of its cars using the nickname.
The Mercedes-Benz W189 model 300 was a four-door luxury tourer produced by Mercedes-Benz between 1957 and 1962. It was the company's flagship model at the time, equivalent to the modern S-Class and Maybach.
The Mercedes-Benz W112 is a luxury automobile produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1961 to 1967. Marketed as the 300SE, it was available as a coupé, convertible, sedan, and stretched sedan (Lang), all generally similar in appearance to the corresponding Mercedes-Benz W111.
The Mercedes-Benz W180 is an inline 6-cylinder saloon, coupé, and convertible produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1954 until 1959. The models associated with the W180 chassis code were the 220 a and, later, the 220 S
The Mercedes Benz M180 engine was a 2.2 L; 134.0 cu in (2,196 cc) single overhead camshaft inline-6 cylinder engine introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in April 1951 to power the company's new 220 (W187). It was the first engine with a cylinder bore greater than its stroke that Mercedes had installed in a production car, while using a reverse-flow cylinder head.
The F-segment is the 6th category and largest of the European segments for passenger cars, and always belongs to "luxury cars".
Friedrich Geiger was a German automobile designer whose most notable cars, the pre-World War II Mercedes-Benz 540K and post-war Mercedes-Benz 300SL, are among the most highly regarded in automotive history.
Eugen Böhringer was a German racing driver and hotelier who spent the majority of his racing career on the Mercedes-Benz works team. A specialist in grueling long-distance events, his crowning achievement was victory in the 1962 European Rally Championship.
The OM621 is an inline-four diesel engine produced by Mercedes-Benz, from 1956 to 1968. It was succeeded by the OM615 engine.
The luxury class saloons presented in 1959 were given the name "Tailfin" because of the characteristic fin-like markers at the rear known as "Peilstege" (something like "bearing bars").
plank; jetty; gangway; bridge; bar, crosspiece