Wayne Smith's Mercedes 109 Web Site

This site is dedicated to Mercedes Benz 300 SEL 6.3 models. .

The car magazines loved the big engined Mercedes 300 SEL 6.3, they couldn't wait to test it's speed. MOTOR TREND - June 1968, ROAD & TRACK - June 1968, ROAD & TRACK - November 1968, CAR and DRIVER - October 1969, ROAD TEST - January 1971, ROAD & TRACK - August 1971, they all tested the Mercedes Hot Rod. You can read the full articles at the M-100 International Web site just click on the little 6.3 at the top of the page. Remember all these figures were done on skinny 195-70-14 inch tires that went up in smoke when you applied the 437 ft/lbs of torque. It's all to easy to lay rubber the the first 2 gears of the 4 speed automatic. Remember the typical American Muscle car had 3.73 rear in gears, the 6.3 would be close to 5 seconds flat 0-60 mph with 3.73 gearing. Thanks to George Knighton for the following charts. You can view his 6.3 at George Knighton's 1969 300 SEL 6.3

   Performance Chart & U.S. Sales  
 "Merely the Greatest Sedan in the World"
   Performance chart of 1969 300SEL 6.3  (STOCK)


                              |
     -------------------------|------------|
     Engine Capacity (l)      |     6.3    |383 cubic inches
     -------------------------|------------|
     Final Drive Ratio        |     2.85   |    
     -------------------------|------------|
     Curb Weight (lbs)        |    4070    |   
     -------------------------|------------|
     Time for 1/4 mile (sec)  |    14.25   |   
     -------------------------|------------|
     Terminal Speed after     |            |         
     1/4 mile (mph)           |    97.0    |  
     -------------------------|------------|
     Time 0-60mph (sec)       |     5.7    |     
     -------------------------|------------|
     Top Speed (mph)          |    144     |  
     -------------------------|------------|
     Engine Speed at Top      |            |    
     Car Speed (rpm)          |    5530    |    
     ---------------------------------------


Reports of performance varied tremendously, depending on the car's age and how
 it was broken in.  Mercedes cars of this
vintage were largely hand assembled, which also added to the
variance.  Regardless of the real numbers, the car was clearly
unique in its day, and had no rival.


It's possible to get even more performance out of these cars.  There are 
simple bolt-ons available from experienced Mercedes shops that will get you 
up to 350 SAE net HP and improve the drive ability and acceleration times.  


It takes enormous amounts of horsepower to get the car over about 150 miles 
per hour because of the antique, boxy shape of the vehicle, so most current 
owners are making improvements for the sake of reliability and maintenance,
 not more horses.


U.S. sales of 300SEL 6.3:
1968      98
1969     601
1970     642
1971     487
1972       9
1973       2
------------
total   1839


- Wayne Smith

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