Heckflosse
It was called names such as "fin-Mercedes", "fenmerca", "fin-tail" and "Heckflosse" because of its fins. The design first appeared in 1959 in the W111. Several European models got fins following the American 50s trend, although the fins on Mercedes-Benz were not as dominant - and vulgar - as on contemporary Americans.
Two models with fins
Two types of the Finnish Mercedes were made – the W111 for 6-cylinder engines and the W110 for 4-cylinder engines. The latter first appeared as a 1961 model, 2 years after the W111 was launched. The W110 was a kind of "cheap version" of the W111. In addition to smaller engines, it was also more simply equipped. Less chrome and wood, as well as simpler seats. Especially in the front, you could distinguish the simpler W110 from the slightly larger W111. The two models had the same wheelbase and the same interior space, but a simpler front made the w110 less "showy" - and a couple of cm shorter.
190 series
Originally, the W110 was offered with two 1,9-litre engines – one petrol and one diesel. The official designation of the model was 190. It replaced the earlier 180. The popular pontoon model with 4-cylinder engines was nevertheless produced in parallel with the 190 for a while. Both the 180 and 190 series were typical service cars – not so much people's cars, so to speak. They were favored as taxis. My first taxi ride (that I can remember) was in a black 190 with the indicators up on the front fenders and the speedometer standing still. I'm not sure how fast they were, but a friend of mine commented: 0-100 in an afternoon…
Facelift to reduce the impression of the fins
The 190 series received a facelift in 1965. Several changes were made to both the petrol and diesel engines. Among other things, the petrol engine had its displacement increased to 2,0 litres. The new 2,3 inline six was included in the model program as the 230 and became the only six with the short front.
The most noticeable visual changes were that the front indicators were moved from the top of the fenders to below the headlights. Small changes were also made to the rear lights and chrome strips. I think the purpose was to dampen the impression of the Finns, after all de was no longer as modern as when the model was launched. Its big brother, the W111, was completely reworked. It got a completely new body - without fins. The W110 did not. It was produced until it was replaced by the W115 in 1968.
About the pictures
The black Norwegian-registered car in the main image was photographed at a Cars and coffee meetup at Øvrevoll Galopp. The grey first series car was photographed in a residential area in Skien. The black British car is a 1966 Mercedes-Benz 230 that was for sale at an auction house in 2020. The car had 77000 km on the odometer and the bid price was £12. The photo was taken at the London Classic Car Show. The ivory-white car is pictured in Billingstad. The ribbed wrecked car was photographed outside the car scrapyard in Tocksfors, Sweden.
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See
Mercedes-Benz Club Norway
The Mercedes club "The Star Car"
