We all know of the 'hypersedan', the track inspired 4-door ssedan which is manufactured by Porsche. The car is a sensation in itself. The 4-door sedan is the epitome of luxury and sports performance. The Panamera is one of the most exclusive and desirable sedans available today. In direct competition with the likes of Bentley, packing sports performance and luxury, the Panamera is one highly desirable automobile. Taking the game further, Porsche has decided to introduce a higher specced version of the Panamera, the Panamera Exclusive Series. Based on the 570-hp Panamera Turbo S-Executive. It is the long-wheelbased version of the Panamera. This sedan comes in a shade of Metallic Jet Black, which is hand-applied. A good thing indeed. It comes with Chestnut Brown accents, which add to the auro of this car. The black colored, 20-inch Sport Classic wheels complete the distinguished look this car carries. On the inside, the changes are even more conspicuous.
There is Chestnut Brown leather which is used to cover everything possible. And the leather is not just any leather, it comes directly from the house of Poltrana Frau, one of the best Italian leather studios in the world. It comes with heated and cooled seats, a welocome feature that increases the overall luxury quotient of the car. One also gets the newly developedl, dual 10.1 inch mobile entertainment systems, which are attached to the back of the frontseats. They have built in cameras, mobile internet and wireless Burmester Headphones. The luxury is carried onto the trunk as well, where it is covered in the same leather as the interiors. One also gets Poltrana Frau leather luggage, to match the exclusivity. No mechanical changes have been made. The car comes with cosmetic enhancements, some of them previously unheard of. 264, 895. The whopping price tag ensure that the customers are also highly 'exclusive'. Porsche will produce only 100 of these. Let us see how fast this lot sells out.
These chromed alloy wheels were installed by the dealership or owners in the USA. You typically never see European W126s with these chrome alloys - not only did the factory not like this but I have been informed that the car will not pass its TUV (inspection) in Germany with chromed alloys wheels. Namely, the plating process weakens the alloy wheel and after years of weathering and brake dust, the chrome finish starts to flake off and allow air pressure to escape around the bead. Even with my car in great cosmetic shape, the chrome wheels did have a little flaking here and there. The reason you hardly see these chrome wheels around anymore is due to corrosion and flaking of the plating. You can still buy these chromed alloy wheels online, but I've also been told that once chrome plated, the alloy wheels can not be rechromed a second time. 1K or more for a set (and be careful about which company did the plating!). TT: How is the maintenance? The cost of parts and labor?
The nice part of looking out for W126 models is that they were mainly purchased by people who could afford to maintain them properly. But, parts cost are not too expensive and there are many parts shops online that sell a vast array of OEM or aftermarket spares for these cars. I had my W126 maintained and repaired at a small independent shop (MB Garage) in Redwood City, CA. The labor charge per hour was not cheap, but the techs knew their trade and did not recommend any unnecessary work. I generally knew what kind of attention or service my car needed, so when I brought it in there were no surprises. The nice thing about this place was that I was always given a W123 300D (they have a fleet of W123s as loaner cars) to drive around while my car received service work. It rode nicely, but talk about a noisy car! TT: You're a big Citroen guy.
What about the W126 attracted you? TB: I've always been a car guy. By now, you know my first love is the Citroen DS. I've always admired the W126 series Mercedes as well as most MB series from the 1950s. It is the engineering that I am drawn toward. I like how you can tell the car was designed to MB engineering principles of its time as opposed to accounting principles. TT: When did Mercedes lose its ways? 1 billion to design and engineer the W140 model (the replacement for the W126). I have heard that there was much consternation in the company to sell this model to a price point after spending that much to develop it. Consequently, after the model introduced, Mercedes started to decontent as the years went by. I still feel that after the W124 and early W140 models that Mercedes lost some of its respect from me.