This Mercedes-Benz sports car, dubbed the 680S
Saoutchik Torpedo, was a marvel of its era, as it featured a perfect mixture of
styling from various classes and areas. It was not only a sports car, but a
luxury car too. It was a perfect combination of German engineering
and French design, having been designed by Jaques Saoutchik.
The Mercedes-Benz 680S Saoutchik Torpedo boasts the
traditional look of the era, featuring large front wheel wells, circular exposed
headlight assemblies, and a stylish exposed radiator. Atop the radiator cap is
the obligatory Mercedes-Benz emblem. It also boasted the cab rearward seating
position popular of the era, which can make driving in traffic a little hairy.
A unique feature to the Mercedes-Benz 680S Saoutchik Torpedo is that its
convertible top completely disappears when it is folded.
Under that massive hood is a 6,788 cc gasoline engine that remarkably features only six cylinders in a
straight line. This massive 6-banger features a SOHC format and two valves per
cylinder. Feeding the engine its a pair of carburetors and a Roots stepped
supercharger. This massive 6-pot pumps out an impressive-for-the-era 180
horsepower at 3,000 rpm.
The engine transfers power to the rear wheels via a
4-speed manual transmission. We guarantee that this is not an easy car to
drive, given its old systems and heavy weight. This engine is capable of
propelling this massive sports car to a top speed of about 110.6 mph. In an era
chock-full of 60 mph top speed cars, for a car to exceed 100 mph was
impressive.
The interior of the Mercedes-Benz 680S Saoutchik
Torpedo was a thing of beauty for its era. It boasts reptile-skin seats – the
type of reptile is not specified, scary – and intricate wood accents
throughout. An enormous wood-rimmed steering wheel sits in front of the driver
to help him navigate this land yacht.
With only 18 models in existence, this is one of the
rarest and most desired Mercedes-Benz models available today, but adding in a
Pebble Beach Concours top honor and this model is almost invaluable.
