About forty years ago, Mercedes-Benz set out to re-establish their reputation. Unfotunately, Benz had developed an infamy for underpowered engines and questionable ability. With the W114/115 chassis and particularly the brand-new M110 engine, Mercedes was on the offensive. The "new generation" of Benzes debuted in 1968, designed by Paul Bracq. But for Bernard Bredehorn and his 1972 Mercedes-Benz 280S/8 the W114 holds more personal memories. His grandparents who lived quite far away had a W116 280SE (the predecessor of today's Sonderklasse, or 'S'pecial-class) and he fondly remembers the mechanical noises and sensations he experienced while playing in the rear footwells. His experience with this car however, was anything but easy going. For a long time this car sat in a friend's garage, awaiting restoration, and Bredehorn only saw it when he returned home during school breaks. Each time he returned to it, he had to exhume it from the piles of junk sitting atop the neglected 280.