Long durability
From model years 1977 to 1985, the W123 will be remembered as a real quality car. The cars endured many hundreds of thousands of problem-free kilometers and were popular as taxis almost all over the world. Not only was the cars' construction very solid and robust, - they were also assembled under strict quality control. Then it is perhaps not so strange that you find the occasional W123 in daily operation. If you were to point to something negative, it would have to be rust. Mercedes-Benz rusted as much as other cars. I have photographed a couple of cars in the French part of the Pyrenees, - places where cars don't rust so easily.
Variants
In addition to sedan and coupe, the W123 also came as a station wagon. Station wagons received a T after the engine size, for example "200D T". Mercedes-Benz had previously not made very many station wagons. The T model was to be a great success. The engines in the W123 were the same as in the W114 and W115, but several of them were upgraded during the model's lifetime. The petrol engine options were 200, 230, 230E, 250, 280 and 280E. The E variants had electronic injection from Bosch. The 230 had 109 HP, while the 230E had 136. The 280 had 156 HP, while the 280E had 185 HP. The diesel engines consisted of 200D, 220D, 240D, 300D and 300TD – turbo diesel. A concept that would later become very popular. The 300TD had 5 cylinders and produced 125 HP, while the 300D - which was identical to the 240D 3,0 from the W115 produced 80 HP. A Mercedes-Benz 300TDT was one of the best-selling family cars.
Coupe C123
As a hardtop without a center pillar, the coupe version is an attractive classic. Beautiful lines, durable technology and economically achievable for many. Technically it is based on the sedan version but has an 85 mm shorter wheelbase. The car in the pictures participated in the Classic Weekend at Bertel O. Steen in Lørenskog in 2025.
T-edition S123
About the pictures
Sedan
The main photo was taken in Bordeaux, France. A classic that many still use for daily transportation. The gray, French car with black license plates was photographed in Oms, a mountain village in the French Pyrenees. The French car in English red was photographed in Montbolo, France. The autumnal 300D was photographed on Oksenøya outside Oslo. It is probably in the color SignalRot. The Norwegian The English-red car is a 200D and was photographed at a Cars & Coffee event at Øvrevoll. The maroon-colored car was photographed in a residential area in Copenhagen. The blue, street-parked car was photographed at St.Hanshaugen, Oslo. It is a 1984 Mercedes-Benz 240 D. The light yellow car was photographed in Céret, France, 2024. The black car was photographed at Kringsjå in Oslo.
S123 T edition
The car in the large picture was photographed in connection with a motor show at Sjøterrassen in Bamble. The white station wagon with Barock rims was photographed outside the Norwegian Museum of Vehicle History at Hunderfossen. It is often parked there. The beige, street-parked station wagon is pictured at Marienlyst in Oslo. The white car with original hubcaps attended a car meet at Bertel O. Steen in Lørenskog in 2025. The navy blue car with American bumpers was photographed while it was parked on the street in Belgravia, London 2025.
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