On the occasion of our first drive of the revised 2018 Mercedes-Benz S-class, we also were afforded the opportunity to drive an example of the first Mercedes to use that model designation, a W116 version, and the contrast was marked. A shiny, well-sorted car from the factory?s Classic Center in Stuttgart, the W116 our hosts rolled out was an 350SE from 1979, a car from late in the production run that in its home market stretched from 1972 until 1980. Looking dapper in understated dark-blue metallic with generous chrome accents and MB?s classic color-matched wheel covers, the 350SE also sported a matching dark-blue interior with houndstooth-checked cloth upholstery.
In many ways, the W116 represented a leap into the modern era, with pull-type exterior door handles, bucket seats bisected by a center console, the familiar gated floor shifter for the automatic transmission, power windows, and?most welcome on a blistering hot summer day?working factory air conditioning. The huge steering-wheel rim of wrinkly black vinyl was a Benz mainstay for years; its extra-large diameter was designed to provide the driver additional leverage should the power assist fail. The 350SE indicates a 3.5-liter engine in this example, this being from the days when the model designation still related to engine displacement. Under the hood was a V-8, smooth-running although with a rather lazy idle?it spun so slowly that it seemed almost on the verge of stalling, yet it never did.

When stirred, howeve...