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(from Daimler press
release) Model history: the A 124 series (1991 to 1997)
-- Investment of
engineering expertise guarantees quality and safety of the
open-top vehicle
-- Five engine variants available
-- Fully retractable soft top creates an elegant cabriolet
silhouette
In September 1991, as a
further body variant of the 124 series Mercedes-Benz presented the
300 CE-24 Cabriolet. Production began in 1992. Cabriolet development
was based on the Coupé, and in terms of mechanical components the
Cabriolets were identical with their four-door counterparts. Like
the Saloons they were equipped with multi-link independent rear
suspension, thereby further improving ride quality compared with
predecessor models, as well as shock absorber strut independent
front suspension located by individual wishbones. The braking system
was also borrowed without modification from the Saloons.
After a great investment
of engineering know-how, the two-door was prepared for its role as
an open-topped car – adequate stiffening of the body alone required
the redesign of 1000 parts. Each Cabriolet needed a total of more
than 130 kilograms of additional sheet metal to structurally
compensate for the 28 kilograms lost from the Coupé roof and to meet
the safety standards that applied to the Saloons, Estates and Coupés
of the series. Body vibrations, a system-related weak point of open
cars, were eliminated by four vibration absorbers fitted in the left
shock absorber strut, the roof frame and the side boot recesses.
To make up for the lack
of side roof frame, the A-pillars were welded together with metal
sections inside the pillars to form a sturdy unit in the area prone
to buckling. This enabled the vehicle to achieve stability levels
similar to those of a saloon in the critical roof impact test;
extreme tests in which the entire vehicle was suspended by an
A-pillar provided a particularly impressive demonstration of the
robustness of the design. This combination of A-pillar and automatic
rollover bar produced a fully-fledged safety system. Specifically
for the 300 CE-24 Cabriolet, a linear bar arranged behind the rear
seats was developed that extended almost perpendicularly within 0.3
seconds in the event of a rollover. Simultaneously it served
rear-seat passengers as a head restraint. For this purpose the
rollover protection could also be extended and retracted manually.
Complex soft top design
The fully retractable
top impressed with an abundance of well-thought-out technical
details. Retracted, the high-precision structure, which weighed 43
kilograms and had 27 linkage parts and 34 joints, occupied a mere 80
litres of space, so that the car still had a generously proportioned
boot. The large heated rear window made of safety glass was screwed
flush with the outer skin by a double frame, affording undistorted
rear vision. To improve the convenience of operation, as an optional
extra there was an electrohydraulic actuation system for the top.
Ten valves and twelve electric limit switches controlled the perfect
sequence of three swivelling movements, as well as the correct
engagement of the different locking mechanisms, and monitored the
closed condition when the car was on the move.
As with the Mercedes-Benz Coupés of the day, a belt feeder
automatically brought the seat belt to a comfortable position once
the driver or front passenger had taken up position. This comfort
feature was necessary because with the absence of a B-pillar the
seat belts were mounted comparatively far back.
Under its bonnet the 300 CE-24 had a four-valve six-cylinder M 104
engine, the unit that had been presented in the SL of the R 129
series. In the four-seater Cabriolet it developed an output of 162
kW at 6400 rpm.
Six months after series
production start-up the 300 CE-24 Cabriolet, along with all other
vehicles in the 124 series, received a much higher-quality standard
equipment package. The scope of delivery now included driver’s
airbag and electrically adjustable left and right exterior mirrors.
The Cabriolet was equipped as standard from production start-up with
central locking and five-speed transmission, features that were
simultaneously adopted as basic equipment in the 124 series.
In June 1993 the 300
CE-24 Cabriolet along with all 124 series models, was revised,
stylistically updated and adapted in line with the other model
series. The most striking feature of the modified vehicles was the
radiator grille, which was redesigned after the S-Class. This
so-called integrated radiator featured a much narrower chrome
surround compared with the previous design, and the Mercedes star
sat on the bonnet as in the S-Class saloons. The light units were
also noticeably modified to include colourless glass covers on the
front direction indicators and bi-chromatic covers on the
taillights, which were uniformly tinted white-grey over the
indicators and reversing lights. The yellow indicator light was thus
generated front and rear from coloured bulbs. Other modifications
were made to the bumpers, where the protective mouldings were now
painted the colour of other detachable parts. In addition, the
protective strip on the rear bumper was extended to the wheel
cut-outs.
Facelift brings new engines
As part of this model
refinement package the Cabriolet was not only updated visually, it
was also equipped with a range of new engines that had already been
introduced into the other body variants in the intermediate class in
October 1992. In the Cabriolet the proven 3.0-litre four-valve unit
was now succeeded by the 3.2-litre six-cylinder with four-valve
technology. Compared with its predecessor it had an equivalent rated
output of 162 kW, but achieved this at 900 rpm earlier; maximum
torque was considerably higher and also achieved at lower engine
speeds. Exhaust and noise emissions were thereby effectively
reduced.
A fundamental innovation
was also the offer of a four-cylinder variant of the Cabriolet at
over 20,000 Deutschmarks cheaper than its six-cylinder counterpart.
The new entry-level model had the 136 kW, 2.2-litre, four-valve
engine, which since its appearance in October 1992 had served in the
Saloon, the Estate and the Coupé of the 124 series.
The Cabriolet was also
fitted with the 2-litre version of the four-cylinder, four-valve
engine exclusively for export to Italy, Greece and Portugal; this
unit generated an output of 100 kW and had served since October 1992
in the export version of the Coupé.
All three variants were
now equipped as standard with the electrohydraulic soft top,
previously only available at extra cost, which additionally featured
a modified interior covering with improved warmth and noise
insulation.
To coincide with the
sales launch of the redesigned models, a new nomenclature also came
into effect for the 124 series in June 1993. Analogous with the
S-Class and the new C-Class, the intermediate class was now called
the E-Class. The model designations also followed a modified system,
in which letters documented a car’s membership of a certain class.
The letter(s) were followed by a three-digit number based as
previously on engine displacement. The E suffix that was formerly
used to indicate a petrol engine with fuel injection could now be
dropped, since carburettor engines were now a thing of the past and
coding with a “C” or a “T” to denote the plainly obvious body
variant was also deemed superfluous. In line with the new system of
nomenclature the Cabriolets were now known as the E 220 Cabriolet
and E 320 Cabriolet; however, the nameplate identified only the
model’s class and displacement.
From September 1993 on
there was also a more powerful variant for the Cabriolet enthusiast
with sporting ambition in the form of the E 36 AMG, which was
equipped with a 195 kW, 3.6-litre four-valve engine from AMG. The
new top-of-the-range Cabriolet could also be told apart from its
less dynamic sister models by its discreetly enlarged add-on parts.
The front spoiler, side skirts and rear apron were painted in the
same colour as the car and harmoniously integrated into the body
shape; the overall image was completed with standard-fit AMG-designed
alloy rims (diameter: 43.2 centimetres).
In order to offer customers with less performance-oriented ambitions
a more affordable entry-level model, the E 200 Cabriolet, which had
been produced since July 1993 for export, was brought into the
domestic sales range in March 1994. Its price tag was more than
10,000 Deutschmarks below the cost of the 2.2-litre variant,
although this saving was accounted for by a number of deletions from
the equipment package: alloy wheels, leather upholstery and heated
seats no longer came as part of standard equipment as with the
sister models, but were available at extra cost.
Built until July 1997,
the E-Class Cabriolet was the last variant of the 124 series to
remain in production. In total 33,952 examples were produced, 15,380
with four-cylinder engines and 18,572 with six-cylinder engines. The
proportion of E 320 Cabriolets sold for export was above average at
over 75 percent, a fact that has long been part of Mercedes-Benz
tradition, particularly where the more exclusive models in the
company’s passenger car range are concerned.
