Thirty years—this is how old the revered Mercedes-Benz 124 Coupe will be, come March 2017. Yes, the said model made its world debut at the Geneva Motor Show in that year, This set the stage for a long-standing history that would span not just its life cycle but even beyond, becoming a desirable commodity for car aficionados the world over.
Chief behind this was the design, possessing the same elegant yet subtly sporty demeanor of its sedan and wagon siblings. The squared-off profile with a hint of wedgy roundness simply worked in coming up with a car that had timeless appeal. To this tday, the overall look has aged gracefully.
Apart from the looks, the 124 Coupe, as with the rest of the line, was packed with engine, suspension, and creature comfort features that were ahead of its day. The 280CE and 300CE, for instance, had all the power features, leather, and other options that made it high-tech at the time. It even came with Antilock Brakes, at a point when most cars didn’t even have it in their extras list.
Despite being a rather conservative number, the E-Class still didn’t forget that Mercedes-Benz had a bit of a sporting lineage. Thus in 1989, the Sportline was introduced to the Coupe family, as was the 220hp 300CE-24, with its 24-valve six-cylinder motor. In 1993, a new model nomenclature system took place at Mercedes-Benz, wherein the letters preceded the numbers. Thus models like the 320CE were now known as the E320 Coupe.
In that same year, one of the first fruits of the cooperation agreement between the German carmaker and its motorsport and performance arm, AMG, signed in 1990, came into being. This was the E36 AMG, the most powerful model of the range, with its 3.6-liter six-cylinder lump with 265 horses under the hood. While not exactly a supercar, it did give enthusiasts a reason to go for cars like the E-Class 124 Coupe.
Such models, along with the rest of the line, sold a total of 141,498 examples from 1987 to 1996. And from March 2017 onwards, those same cars still traversing German roads can now apply for a historical license plate. And the rest, as they say, is history—Mercedes-Benz style.
