You might not recognise the W123 series name, but you’ll recognise the car. Between 1976 and 1985, Mercedes sold 2.7 million of these classy, dependable saloons.
W123 is the name used by Mercedes to describe this series, but you’ll know these cars better by their model names – the Mercedes 200, 220, 230, 250, 280 and 300.
Each one has letters after its name to make things even more confusing, but there is a surprisingly logical system behind it.
First, the number. This simply describes the engine capacity, so the 200 has a 2-litre engine, the 220 has a 2.2-litre engine, the 240 has a 2.4-litre engine and so on.
The letters after the number indicate the body style and the engine technology. If there are no letters it’s a regular saloon with a petrol engine.
‘C’ indicates the shorter-wheelbase coupé version, ‘T’ indicates the estate version (Tourismus und Transport), ‘D’ indicates a diesel version and ‘E’ indicates electronic ignition.
So the 280CE is a 2.8-litre fuel-injected coupé, while the 240D is a 2.4-litre diesel saloon. There are 30 different variants in the W123 series, but the model number tells you exactly which you’re looking at.
The petrol-powered cars are reasonably feisty for their era, but the non-turbo diesels are pedestrian at best.
Mercedes did eventually fit a turbocharger to its 300-series motor to bring the power up towards petrol car standards.
The W123 proved to be Mercedes most popular series to date and they sold 2.7 million of them.
Demand was so high in the early days that nearly-new models were changing hands on the black market at higher than list price, just to avoid lengthy dealer waiting lists.
The W123 has been popularised as a social indicator (for better or worse) as the vehicle of choice for Porky Pig (Looney Tunes), James May (Top Gear Africa special) and Citizen Khan (UK TV sitcom).