HIGH END

MERCEDES 560SEL

If truth be known, the Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit was not the car the S Class had to beat, but the Jaguar XJ. The old Silver Shadow had been a leap forward for Rolls, replacing the outdated Silver Cloud in 1965 with the new car being of a similar standard of performance and roadability as the best American cars. Even in 1965, Mercedes were on the offensive with the all new W108 saloon, the top end versions from the late sixties such as the 300SEL 3.5 and 6.9 being astonishingly good – but soundly beaten in many respects by the 1968 XJ6 and the XJ12 from 1972.

The 1972 W116 again set many new standards although in terms of ride it still wasn’t