Car Model History

Second generation · W126 · 1981–1991

1991Mercedes-Benz S-Class

The best-selling classic S-Class and a design icon. It reached US showrooms for 1981 (late-1980 launch). The first production car offered with a driver's airbag; later added a passenger airbag (1988). Also spawned the C126 coupe (SEC).

Second generation · W126

1991 Mercedes-Benz S-Class (W126) — sedan, front three-quarter view

Photo: “1991 Mercedes-Benz 350 SD Turbo in Black, Front Left, 07-15-2023” by Elise240SX / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.

Start here

What do you need to know?

This page covers the whole 1991 Mercedes-Benz S-Class model year. Choose your task first; exact trims and engines are separated where the factory offered different versions.

Complete, source-verified lineup

Find your exact 1991 S-Class

Start with a family, body style, or engine. Every card opens the facts and maintenance information for that factory version.

5factory configurations
Verified complete for the U.S.-marketHow this lineup was verified

We checked this U.S.-market lineup against period sources for factory sedan, coupe, cabriolet, drivetrain, and powertrain roster represented by the cited exact-year or factory-archive evidence. Every version shown below has its own detail page.

Verified 2026-09-01 from Mercedes-Benz Club of America — 1981–1991 W126 U.S.-market buyer's guide.

5versions shown
Four-door rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan

Mercedes-Benz 300 SE Automatic

Body
Four-door rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan
Engine
3.0-liter M103 fuel-injected inline-six
Gearbox
4-speed automatic
Built
Regular production
Open exact version
Four-door long-wheelbase rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan

Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL Automatic

Body
Four-door long-wheelbase rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan
Engine
3.0-liter M103 fuel-injected inline-six
Gearbox
4-speed automatic
Built
Regular production
Open exact version
Four-door long-wheelbase rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan

Mercedes-Benz 350 SDL Automatic

Body
Four-door long-wheelbase rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan
Engine
3.5-liter OM603 turbocharged diesel inline-six
Gearbox
4-speed automatic
Built
Regular production
Open exact version
Four-door long-wheelbase rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan

Mercedes-Benz 420 SEL Automatic

Body
Four-door long-wheelbase rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan
Engine
4.2-liter M116 fuel-injected V8
Gearbox
4-speed automatic
Built
Regular production
Open exact version
Four-door long-wheelbase rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan

Mercedes-Benz 560 SEL Automatic

Body
Four-door long-wheelbase rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan
Engine
5.6-liter M117 fuel-injected V8
Gearbox
4-speed automatic
Built
Regular production
Open exact version

The 1991 model year

Overview

The final U.S. W126 model year retained the 300 SE, 300 SEL, 350 SDL, 420 SEL, and 560 SEL roster. Mercedes-Benz's factory history places the successor W140's introduction in calendar 1991; this site's non-overlapping U.S. convention begins the W140 with model year 1992 rather than mixing both chassis on one year page.

Specifications

Engines
  • 3.0-liter M103 fuel-injected inline-six
  • 3.5-liter OM603 turbocharged diesel inline-six
  • 4.2-liter M116 fuel-injected V8
  • 5.6-liter M117 fuel-injected V8
Transmissions
4-speed automatic
Body styles
Four-door rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan, Four-door long-wheelbase rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan

Year over year

What changed

  • The five-model 1990 roster carried into the W126's final U.S. model year.
  • The following U.S. model year moves to the W140 generation and a different model roster.

Worth knowing

Notable

  • Calendar-year W140 introduction and U.S. model-year W126 closure are deliberately stated as different date conventions.

Living with it

Reliability & ownership notes

  • Confirm the chassis, engine number, market specification, and build date before ordering parts; U.S. model-year rosters do not describe gray-market or other-market W126 sedans.
  • Use the maintenance record scoped to the exact engine shown on this page; it must not be projected onto the diesel, coupe, or other W126 powertrains that the source does not cover.

Maintenance & service parts

Keep your 1991 S-Class on the road

Start with the service interval, then match the engine or exact version you own. Order links appear only when a catalog-backed part number is available, and every listing still needs a fitment check.

Service desk

What this car needs & when

Use this as a service-planning checklist for 1991 Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Start with the interval, confirm which engine or configuration you have, then use an exact ordering reference when one is verified.

Service topics
9
Factory intervals
8
Fitment-scoped
9
Exact references
2

Before orderingIdentify your engine, options and build date.Part numbers and sizes can change within one model year. Shopping links appear only for catalog-backed references; still verify the listing against your vehicle before ordering.

Collect

Bring this model year home

Find a scale model using the exact year, make, and model—not a generic generation search.

Sources

  1. Mercedes-Benz Media — factory S-Class history and W126 design/safety chronology
  2. Mercedes-Benz Club of America — 1981–1991 W126 U.S.-market buyer's guide

Other Second generation years

Explore the W126 generation →All Second generation · W126 years →

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