Retro Designs, a car shop based in North Carolina, has rolled out a fairly tasteful and attention-grabbing restomod of a 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SE. The saloon ended up with much more capable engine and suspension while retaining most of its retro charms.
Starting with the engine bay, the tuner put a 5.4-liter, naturally aspirated V8 in it, sourced from a relatively recent Mercedes-AMG C-Class. It received all-new wiring, exhaust components and radiator, as well as a custom gas tank. The listing neglected to mention the output, but we’d imagine it being no worse than the stock 372 PS (367 hp / 274 kW) and 510 Nm (376 lb-ft) of torque.
The suspension was rebuilt from scratch to ensure modern handling, and the brake system was overhauled with Brembo components at the base. Stock wheels made room for smallish-looking billet rollers decorated with always-upright hubcaps. It’s hard to say whether the rims look worth their asking price of $20,000, so we’ll leave it for you to decide.
The rest of the exterior stayed stock, including all the chrome parts and even the antiquated bulb headlamps. Same applies to the interior, which was retrimmed in brown leather and only mildly retouched. There are new switches here and there, Alcantara on the headliner, a modern JL Audio system hooked onto some Focal speakers, a Dakota Digital dash and a Vintage Air climate control system – but that’s about it. The steering wheel, the entire transmission tunnel and the gear lever are all stock.
Which isn’t necessarily bad – far from it – but it makes one wonder whether the final result is truly worth the U.S. $500,000 asking price. On the one hand, it’s an exclusive, one-off luxury vehicle. On the other hand, it’s 57 years old with unknown mileage. Would you risk it, if money were no object?
