A 33-year-old Brabus Mercedes 1000SEL goes on sale

It was a bit of a fad in the 1980s to take a premium car like the Mercedes 500SEL or the 560SEL, tune the hell out of it and then give it a new badge that would read “1000SEL” or something similar. Sure, the model didn’t really exist, but this way everyone around you instantly knew the car had been extensively upgraded.

The vehicle depicted here is essentially a Mercedes 500SEL (W126) built by Brabus in 1985. The tuner gave it aggressive-looking bumpers, new side skirts, 16-inch BBS alloy wheels, a black radiator grille and custom logos.

They also tinted the windows and draped the cabin in premium black leather.

Unusually enough for the time it was modded, the car got to keep its original 5.0L V8 engine with the stock 227 hp (169 kW) and 405 Nm (300 lbft) of torque, partnered with a four-speed automatic transmission. 

The odometer of this Mercedes 1000SEL reads around 315,000 kilometers (196,000 miles). The price of the car remains unannounced, but you may visit Bring a Trailer for more details.

Photo: carscoops.com