At $10,000, Could This 1965 Mercedes 220S ‘Rat Rod’ Make You A Fintail Fan?
Today’s Nice Price or No Dice 220S has been styled to look like a vintage rally racer. Its perposely-patina’d roof even has a whimsical “Better Late Than Never” painted in Spanish for an extra bit of flair. Let’s see if the price tag set by the seller is a win or a total DNF.
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With its T-tops and five-speed, yesterday’s 1992 Chevy Camaro RS had some of the right bits of kit we like to see. However, a less-desirable 305 V8, a somewhat beat-down presentation, and lots of miles meant our “Break Glass In Case Of F-Body” emergency mullet went unused. A $6,000 asking price sealed the Camaro’s fate, coming in at a 61 percent No Dice loss.
Thursday’s Camaro’s age and use may have been evident in the wear and tear it exhibited, but it couldn’t be in any way described as ratty. On the other hand, today’s 1965 Mercedes-Benz 220S ‘Heckflosse,’ has been purposefully curated to appear semi-ratty in its reimagining as a rally racing rat rod.
According to the ad, this W111 sedan was originally imported from Germany—hence the speedo reading in km/h—and lived much of its life in sunny Malibu, California. In 1968, it made a trek to Mexico for the Olympic games and still has the ‘turista’ window sticker and Mexico key fob from that adventure.
In later years, it was sent to a shop for some repairs, where it stayed for almost three decades after the owner passed away and the estate apparently forgot about the car. When the shop closed, the Benz was sold along with other vehicles as part of the close-out and was later bought by the present owner from the individual who made that deal.
It has since been turned into an homage rally racer, with a carefully crafted patina and some period-correct livery, lights, and wheels. The interior has also been given new seating and door upholstery, and the car has undergone an extensive mechanical refresh—major brake components, suspension bits, and other ancillary updates—to make it a reliable daily driver for the current owner.
While this car may not have a real rally pedigree, the model’s history does mean the homage isn’t totally out of left field. Introduced in August 1959, the W111 Heckflosse, or Fintail, succeeded the W180 ‘Ponton’ series as Mercedes’ primary money maker. Over-engineered and extremely stout, the W111 proved the perfect tool for rally racing shenanigans, with cars winning in Monte Carlo, Finland, Cape Town, and elsewhere over the years.
Powering this 220S is a 2195cc SOHC straight six fitted with twin Solex carburetors. That’s good for 110 (gross) horsepower, a sizable bump from the single-carb engine’s 95. Those horses are routed through a three-speed automatic to the car’s oddball half-swing axle rear end.
No, it’s not going to be quick (sixty takes about 16 seconds to reach) or fast overall, but it should prove pretty fun nonetheless.
Per the seller, the car could use a carb tune and suffers from road rot in the outer wall of the front fender, but is otherwise solid and capable. It sports new-ish tires on later aluminum wheels and has a correct mileage reading of 114,000, although the odometer only shows 14k of that as it lacks sufficient barrels for the true reading. The title is clean, and the car comes with a price tag of $10,000.
Admittedly, this Mercedes’ look would be a lot more interesting if it had an actual racing history to back it up rather than a story about once taking a trip to Mexico. People tend to appreciate authenticity over artificiality, but then there’s always a more significant cost in the real deal over any homage. You’d pay a lot more to see a Led Zeppelin reunion than a Kashmir cover band, right?
With that in mind, what’s your take on this rally homage 220S and that $10,000 asking? Does that seem fair, given the work that has gone into the car and its present condition? Or is this just a faker with an even more fake expectation of value?
You decide!
Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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