• One of only 1,232 examples produced • Desirable European specification • Present ownership since 1993 • Offered in its original colour combination • Restored in 2017 and maintained since 'Exclusive' is a much bandied-about word in the classic car world, but it is a most apt description of the Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5.

Why? Because at $13,500 in 1970 its price was not only $3,500 more than that of the equivalent Mercedes-Benz saloon but also more than double that of a Cadillac Deville Coupé! Commonplace it was not.

The 3.5-litre version of the 280 SE typifies the resurgence of larger-engined Mercedes-Benz models that began in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the progressive easing of fiscal constraints, which had dissuaded customers from buying cars with large capacity engines, encouraged the German manufacturer to offer bigger, more potent power units.

Thus, the ultra-luxurious 280 SE Coupé/Cabriolet and 300 SEL saloon were the models chosen by Mercedes-Benz to launch its magn...