Mercedes W100 Overview: Generations and Which One to Buy
Overview of the Mercedes W100 sedan (1964–1981): its single generation, the 250 hp 6.3 AT version, and guidance on choosing one.
The Mercedes W100 is a sedan produced from 1964 to 1981 with a 250 hp engine across its range. It suits buyers who want a large classic Mercedes sedan with an automatic transmission and rear-wheel drive, and who value effortless power delivery over economy.
The W100 lineup is unusually simple: one generation, one body style, one modification. That makes the choice itself easy, but it also means every consideration — from performance to parts — centers on a single well-documented version rather than a spread of engines and trims.
Mercedes W100 generations
1 generation (1964–1981)
The first and only generation of the Mercedes W100 was built from 1964 to 1981 exclusively as a sedan. All cars carry a 250 hp engine paired with an automatic gearbox and rear-wheel drive. The single modification is the 6.3 AT (1 generation), powered by a 6332 cc engine producing 250 hp and accelerating to 100 km/h in 10.0 seconds. A seventeen-year production run with one unchanged mechanical formula is rare, and it means early and late cars share the same drivetrain layout: 6.3-litre engine, automatic transmission, rear-wheel drive.
For its era, the 6.3 AT's numbers stand out: 250 hp and a 10.0-second sprint to 100 km/h from a 1964 sedan put it among the quickest four-door cars of its time, and the automatic gearbox was the only transmission offered — there was no manual alternative at any point in the 1964–1981 run.
Which Mercedes W100 to buy
- 6.3 AT (1 generation): the only modification offered, with 250 hp from its 6332 cc engine and 0–100 km/h in 10.0 seconds — every W100 on the market is this version, so the buying decision comes down to condition rather than specification.
When shopping used, remember the newest W100 is from 1981 and the oldest from 1964, so every example is a decades-old classic; the upside is that the single-modification, single-generation lineup keeps the search simple — there are no engine or gearbox variants to compare, and any two cars differ only in year and condition.
Summary
The Mercedes W100 (1964–1981) is a one-version story: a sedan with a 6332 cc engine, 250 hp, automatic transmission, and rear-wheel drive. The 6.3 AT (1 generation) reaches 100 km/h in 10.0 seconds, and with exactly one modification across the entire seventeen-year run, choosing a W100 means choosing the best-kept example you can find rather than weighing versions against each other.