With its antiseptically clean and simple styling, the 1968 W114/W115 looks contemporary and elegant even in the 21st century. And with the replacement of that archaic swing axle rear suspension with a new trailing arm, fully independent system, it finally had a suspension worthy of a Mercedes.
The W114/W115 (the W114 was a six-cylinder model, the W115 had fours) was a wholly new midsize Mercedes expanded to include models with four-, five- and six-cylinder engines. In fact, there were times during the model’s life that up to 15 separate models existed inside the midsize Mercedes family, including a two-door variant. The “Stroke-8″ name arose when it was necessary to distinguish the new car from the old Fintail that continued in production during 1968 and carried the same model names. During ‘68, a 200D was likely a Fintail, while a 200D/8 was definitely a W115. Even after the Fintail was gone, that Stroke-8 heritage persisted in the informal world of nicknames.
The coupe arrived during the 1970 model year as the 250C (“C” for, you guessed it, coupe) sitting on the same wheelbase as the sedan, but about two inches lower in overall height. And while it was called the 250C, it didn’t actually carry the 2.5-liter six. Instead it had a 2.8-liter version of the six aboard making 157 horsepower. In 1971, the 250 sedan was blessed with the 2.8-liter engine.
Both the coupe and sedan were slightly redesigned for 1973 getting an updated front end, new fluted tail lamps and bigger bumpers to meet U.S. Federal regulations. More significant was a new 2.8-liter, DOHC straight six under the hoods of the newly named 280 and 280C. With emissions regulations getting tougher, engine outputs were dropping everywhere, so the new engine’s 130-horsepower output was actually quite respectable. Also, for the first time, an automatic transmission was standard with the six-cylinder Stroke-8s.
In 1974, the four-cylinder engine was upgraded to 2.3 liters and 95 horsepower so the car (then Mercedes’ cheapest for sale in America) was renamed the 230. A new 2.4-liter diesel four was also available in the 240D rated at 62 horsepower. The big diesel news came in ‘75 however, when Mercedes grafted another cylinder to the new diesel four to create a 3.0-liter straight five diesel making 77 horsepower — at the time, the most power available in a diesel passenger car.
On the gasoline-fueled side of the equation, 1975 brought with it the first use of catalytic converters. That clog in the exhaust system only robbed the 230’s four of two horsepower (down to 93), but the 280’s six retreated a full 10 horsepower to 120.
The Stroke-8 was wildly popular, with Mercedes building 1,833,442 of them before ending production during 1976. That’s a stunning 77 percent of all Mercedes passenger-car production during that time. It would be a tough act to follow.
Tags: horsepower, mercedes benz, Stroke-8s.
October 29, 2008 at 11:10 am
This was a great read, especially about the history behind the Mercedes Benz sportscar 250C. There is a spot on yahoogroups for that car, it is a fantastic group called, MB250C your readers may want to check it out.