W-140 Mercedes Benz – Driven To Write

Micropost: C140 redesign

In response to the lively discussion about the W220’s predecessor, I have posted this little gallery of how one might go about redesigning the rear end of the W140’s coupé sister, the C140.

The initial problem is the narrow boot aperture and the odd business of the visible weld in the middle of what looks like one part.

I can see from Daniel O’Callaghan’s proposal that if you simply extend the lamps to the existing boot aperture one ends up with very small radii on the lamps’ inner corner. Mercedes did not want the lamps to have sharp corners: the whole car has quite large radii but especially the lamps are all given relatively rounded corners.

So, if one is to Continue reading “Micropost: C140 redesign”

Micropost: Mercedes-Benz W-140 Rear Ashtray

This is something of a marvel, a relic from the Ulm Design School ethos at Untertuerkheim.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This article is one of three items today which pay special regard to ashtrays.

For the 1991 W-140 rear ashtray the designers located the tray and adjusted it to the surrounding forms and materials. That meant it got a matching carpeted panel when, purely functionally, a one-piece cover in plastic might have sufficed. The Ulm attitude involved taking great care to Continue reading “Micropost: Mercedes-Benz W-140 Rear Ashtray”

Driven To Write is a collective of writers, fuelled by a passion for the motor car, its culture and the stories that define it. We aim to provide a distinctive voice and publish a diversity of writing you may not find elsewhere. We hope you’ll take the journey with us.

DTW is non-commercial, self-funded, and contains no advertising.

All original content (words and images) hosted on this site remain the sole copyright of the authors and may not be reproduced or re-purposed in whole or in part without their written permission.