Production chronology1979–open
Sourced production or model lifecycle range used by the main catalog timeline.
rdw ↗1 year
← Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz / Model record
Mercedes-BenzW126
Production1979 – present
Recorded originGermany
Classpassenger car
Also known asMercedes-Benz S-Class (W126)
Power295 hp
Built892,123 units
Background
The Mercedes-Benz W126 is a series of passenger cars made by Daimler-Benz AG. It was marketed as the second generation of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and manufactured in sedan/saloon (1979–1991) as well as coupé (1981–1990) models, succeeding the company's W116 range. Mercedes-Benz introduced the 2-door C126 coupé model, marketed as the SEC, in September 1981. This generation was the first S-Class to have separate chassis codes for standard and long wheelbases and for coupé (C126).
Text adapted from “Mercedes-Benz W126” on Wikipedia ↗ · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗ · retrieved 2026-07
Chronology ledger
Dates with their meaning intact
Netherlands RDW first-admission observations1981
First-admission years observed in Dutch vehicle registrations; this is market evidence, not a worldwide production range.
Netherlands RDW ↗1 year
Research notes
Second-generation S-Class (plus C126 coupe), the longest-running S-Class generation (Dec 1979-Oct 1991), built at Sindelfingen with additional assembly in Malaysia and South Africa. 818,063 sedans and 74,060 coupes produced. Defined the 1980s luxury-sedan benchmark worldwide.