Few cars have earned the stellar reputation that the W123, especially in OM617 diesel ... 123 horsepower and 181 lb-ft of torque, giving the Benz reasonable, if not scintillating, performance.

But it was far from a regular car and its engineering and construction were so advanced that it was more forward-looking than its Mercedes-Benz W123 and BMW E28 mid-range rivals at the time.