Mercedes-Benz W189

Mercedes-Benz W189
Mercedes-Benz 300 (W189)
Overview
Manufacturer	Mercedes-Benz
Also called	Mercedes-Benz 300d
Production	W189 Saloon: 3,077 W189 Cabriolet D: 65
Body and chassis
Class	Full-size luxury car
Body style	4-door saloon 4-door phaeton 4-door cabriolet 4-door limousine
Layout	FR layout
Platform	Mercedes-Benz W189
Related	Mercedes-Benz 300 Sc, Mercedes-Benz 300SL
Powertrain
Engine	2996 cc M189 I6
Transmission	4-speed manual 3-speed automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase	W189: 3,150 mm (124 in)
Length	W189: 5,190 mm (204 in)
Width	W189: 1,860 mm (73 in)
Height	W189: 1,620 mm (64 in)
Curb weight	W189: 1,950 kg (4,300 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor	Mercedes-Benz W186
Successor	Mercedes-Benz W100

The Mercedes-Benz W189 model 300 was a four-door luxury tourer produced by Mercedes-Benz between 1957 and 1962. The company's largest and most prestigious automobile, it was the Maybach of its day, elegant, powerful, exclusive, and expensive.

Marketed as the Type 300d, it was equal in features and price but superior in performance to the rival Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. Favored by statesmen and business leaders, it offered options such as a glass partition, VHF mobile telephone, and dictation machine.

All but hand-built as the company flagship, the 300d is often identified as an Adenauer after Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, who employed six custom cabriolet, hardtop saloon, and landaulet versions of the W189 and its precursor W186 series during his 1949-1963 tenure. Among the custom features in these "parade cars" were writing desks, sirens, curtains, dividing partitions, sunroofs, and half-roof "landaulet" configurations.

Technologically advanced, the"Type 300" was regarded as a "driver's" car, sharing numerous design innovations and mechanical components with the iconic Mercedes-Benz 300 SL "Gullwing", including engine, suspension, and chassis.

Based on the 300c (W186), the enlarged 300d (W189) was introduced in August 1957. The new chassis code reflected sweeping changes that included revised bodywork, fuel injection, and unique hardtop configuration transforming it into a pillarless phaeton.

Available as both a saloon and cabriolet, it retained the W186's proven X-frame chassis and was fitted with an improved version of its 3.0 L (2996 cc/182 in³) overhead cam, aluminum head M186 straight-6, the M189. Bosch mechanical direct injection and an innovative diagonal head-to-block joint that allowed for oversized intake and exhaust valves produced 180 PS (130 kW; 180 hp) at 5500 rpm.