The Mercedes-Benz E-Class and its predecessors stand for a unique tradition in the upper mid-range and executive class. With technical innovation and pioneering design it has helped shape this segment, in which the brand can look back on almost 120 years of experience. The Mercedes-Benz mid-range model has carried the name E-Class since 1993.
The “Fintail” saloons with four-cylinder engine (W 110) made their debut in 1961. This generation of the upper mid-range model was the first to feature the innovative safety body developed by Béla Barényi, with a rigid passenger compartment and crumple zones at the front and rear. It was followed in 1968 by the “Stroke Eight” saloons of the W 114 (six-cylinder engines) and W 115 (four-cylinder engines) model series with their own design. For the first time in the history of the E-Class, this generation exceeded a production figure of one million units. A sporty, elegant coupé model also appeared.
With the 123 model series, the upper mid-range from Mercedes-Benz became more diverse than ever before from 1976 onwards. In addition to saloons (1976) and coupés (1977), there was for the first time also an estate variant, known as the T-model (1977).
The T stood for “Tourism and Transport” and emphasised the flexibility of the estate car.
Things took their dynamic course: introduced in 1984, the 124 model series was the first generation of the brand's upper mid-range to bear the name E-Class from 1993. From 1990 the model range was enhanced with the arrival of AMG models, while a four-seater cabriolet was introduced as a further body variant in 1991.