Page 180 - Car South Africa (February 2020)

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1991 Mercedes-Benz 600SEL (V140) A CLOSE SECOND
MY FAVOURITE Restrained yet handsome styling,
a superb 4,4-litre V8 and a luxu-
rious cabin make the E38 BMW
CLASSIC 740iA my favourite car to come
out of Munich. Painted in Aspen
Silver and sporting 18-inch M
Parallel alloys, BMWs don’t get
By: Jarryd Neves JarrydN_CARmag much prettier than this.

otivated by a near-silent 6,0-litre V12 producing 300 kW of power, the 600SEL could heave its 2,2 tonnes to 100 km/h in just 6,2
seconds. But that’s not what this bastion of sophisticated excess is all about. The 140-series was the last truly over-engineered
M Benz; it cost Mercedes a reported US$1 billion to develop and ultimately cost Daimler-Benz’s head engineer, Wolfgang Peter, his
job. Technology we take for granted today was rst seen here. Parking sensors, double-glazed windows and automatic wipers are just

a few of the innovations “The Cathedral” pioneered. When it was introduced in 1991, Mercedes-Benz received plenty of backlash about

how environmentally irresponsible the car was. Ironically, it had been engineered for full recyclability and was the rst car in the world
to be produced without the use of chloro uorocarbons, making it the most environmentally responsible vehicle of its time.

next Although the
programme was being
month We test a range of the market’s newest crossovers next month, including the Citroën C5 Aircross, Hyundai Venue, Jeep prepared at the time of
Compass and Kia Seltos. Glamour is provided by a road test of the new Audi A7 Sportback, while we also finally get writing for this issue,
on sale behind the wheel of the Volkswagen Golf 8. unforeseen factors may
17 February result in changes.

178 CAR FEBRUARY 2020 CARmag.co.za