Lost children of European royalty living in destitution is a familiar and popular theme, recurring in stories such as those of Grand Duchess Anastasia and Kaspar Hauser. Their tales and similar ones are almost always disproven and rejected, but the case of a W126 S-Class Mercedes of elevated birth unexpectedly spotted in a photo on this website appears to be legitimate. This unusual relic of the 1980s appears to be living out its life in the streets of Baghdad, in the middle of a story that must be interesting to say the least.
Jerseyfred deserves credit for spotting this Mercedes in a photo in an article about 1970s Toyota survivors of Baghdad. Its image is off to the side and out of focus and eluded notice by me for years, but Jerseyfred somehow saw it and felt motivated to point it out. It shows a W126 four door sedan with a cabriolet roof, obviously customized, since Mercedes was not in the business of making Broughams during the 1980s and did not make a W126 convertible either, let alone a four door convertible, a body style that it last used in the 600 Landaulet in 1963-81. More telling details are the presence of a slight “coke bottle” kick-up in the rear door, along with a badly misaligned rear door quarter window and what appears to be a frameless side window. This Mercedes randomly spotted on the streets of Baghdad apparently was no ordinary W126 S-Class sedan.
Online research quickly revealed the identity of the Mercedes. It is a custom four door convertible by the Swiss firm Carosserie Caruna AG, a coachbuilder in Spreitenbach (near Zurich) from 1969 to 1987, which made W126 four door convertibles based on both the standard wheelbase SE and long wheelbase SEL bodies in 1984-87. The Queen of the Netherlands, Juliana, had a 380SEL-based convertible made for her by Caruna in 1984-85. The late Queen Juliana’s car is shown here, after its restoration in 2009. The modified rear door is clearly visible, with its chrome trim emphasizing the coke bottle kick-up line. The rear door kick-up appears to have been unique to Caruna, not used by other companies in their W126 four door convertible conversions.
Caruna was one of many firms worldwide that customized Mercedes S-class sedans and coupes during the 1980s, and its products apparently were more exclusive and tasteful than the flamboyant creations of firms such as Koenig and Sbarro, whose massive fender flares and spoilers would have been too undignified for royal use. Caruna introduced its four door convertible conversion in 1984, initially based on a standard wheelbase 280SE, with a large hump for storing the lowered top positioned far back on the rear deck. The rear door kick-up harmonized the door line with the raised rear deck, and it may have also created space inside the door for the rear quarter window to roll down completely. The first examples had two individual seats in the rear, supposedly to limit the weight of passengers and avoid straining the body structure – an indication of the loss of structural integrity caused by removing the roof and possibly also part of the rear bulkhead from the W126 chassis. The price started at 166,000 Swiss francs for a 280SE-based car – 255,460 Swiss francs ($254,766) in January 2016 – with more powerful engines and other options adding to the bottom line.
Caruna soon redesigned its four door convertible conversion to use the long wheelbase SEL chassis with the smaller doors from the SE. This reconfiguration allowed moving the convertible top storage space forward and reducing the size of the deck lid hump, which made the car’s proportions closer to those of the original sedan with the top either up or down. It also may have created space for structural reinforcements, as conversions using this design could be ordered with a three place bench seat in the rear. The rear door kick-up was angled less sharply upward, to match the lower deck lid hump.
Former Queen Juliana’s car, which appears to be the only example with a significant internet presence thanks to publicity of its 2009 restoration, uses the later SEL-based design. Ordered in 1984 and completed nine months later in 1985, it has the ribbed body cladding, headlights without wipers, and “bundt cake” wheels of a pre-1986 S-Class.
According to the owner nameplate installed inside the glove compartment door by the manufacturer, this car was the 10th convertible conversion built by Caruna.
The car has the rear bench seat available on the SEL-based conversions, with footrests and gray leather upholstery with triangular stitching. The triangular stitching appears to have been a Caruna signature feature.
The car’s trunk has a unique compartment with brackets for holding the royal flags on their staffs. It is likely that most of the small number of these cars that were ordered had comparable made to order details for their VIP owners.
The W126 S-Class four door convertible spotted in Baghdad in 2010 may be the very same dark blue SEL-based example shown in this factory photo, with headlight wipers and smooth body cladding from second generation 1986-91 W126s but pre-1986 “bundt cake” wheels. Identifying the year and chassis of the car in Baghdad is difficult, though. Details appear to be from 1986-91, such as headlights with wipers, smooth body cladding, and smooth-sided alloy wheels, but the graininess of the photo makes them uncertain, and if present they may be parts added from later years.
The car in Baghdad also could be the SE-based car in this black and white photograph from the 1980s, which shows the mix and match nature that was possible with these cars, with the 1984 SE-based body and pre-1986 ribbed body cladding and “bundt cake” wheels, but 1986-91 headlight wipers. The car in Baghdad appears to have rear doors with the sharper angled kick-up, as well as a break in the chrome strip at the base of the convertible top, both features of the early SE-based cars. The graininess of the photo makes these details uncertain as well, though. The shape of the rear deck would be the best evidence, but unfortunately, the rear deck is cut off by the edge of the photo.
In any case, the car clearly has seen better days in its 20-odd years of existence. Since it left Caruna’s works in Switzerland, it has led a far harder life than Queen Juliana’s 1985 380SEL. The original owner will be impossible to determine without further research and a lot of luck, but it may have been Saddam Hussein or his son Uday, each of whom accumulated enormous collections of cars. It would have been a suitable more modern counterpart to the 1978 Mercedes 600 Landaulet that Saddam owned. Or, it may have been originally owned in Kuwait and then looted and brought to Iraq during the 1990-91 Gulf War. Regardless of who ordered it originally, its first owner was certainly an individual of considerable means and importance, its current owner may be as well, and a lot of bad things must have happened in between. It is an unlikely curbside classic that will have to remain a mystery for now.
Photos 1 and 2 are from the author. Photos 3 and 6-9 are from www.autoblog.nl. Photos 4-5 and 10-11 are from www.1000sel.com.
Wow, this is really something. This is another fascinating car that I never knew about. I think that we can all agree that there is something about a convertible sedan that makes it the ultimate high end parade vehicle. A 2 door convertible with people sitting up on the folded top may be good enough for State Fair queens and such, but a genuine convertible sedan with sumptuous leather chairs in back and doors to gracefully enter and exit them is essential for those of real distinction.
love the detective work on this post. pity we cannot get more from the original photo or find the car on the streets in a more current pic.
I have a cauran I will post mine if someone know anything about cauran Merceades contack me right away thankyou monetti1964@gmail.com
Wow–wouldn’t have figured an owner would show up! Very cool. That one has US-spec lamps, it seems; wonder if that means it was delivered to this country new? Do you know anything about the original owner?
Owner of this car was mr. T the actor
This is one of the more interesting stories I’ve seen here in a while, an almost unknown car in a very unlikely place with a great original story, if only cars could talk to fill in the missing years. Never mind the barn finds, this is a true survivor!
+1 Totally fascinating and another take on how CC brings out the interesting linkages between (recent) human history and the automobile
Looks like it could have been a parade car for some head of state, like the Citroen DS 4 door convertibles that were built for Charles De Gaulle in the 60s. Interesting find, you never know what will turn up anywhere in the world.
Isn’t the red sedan in the lower middle of the image a Toyota Corona of about 1977 vintage? To see one of those with a convertible top really would be something unusual.
Truly amazing, to find one of these….in one of your pictures. Kudos to jerseyfred for seeing it.
I’m going to have to ask jerseyfred to take another look at that picture of the red Jetta I took back in college from a couple of weeks ago. Maybe he can find Jimmy Hoffa’s car in the background or something…
Not sure about that. However, I could not identify the blue car in the bottom photo across the intersection in the parking lot a few cars down from the Volvo.
After looking at the original print with a magnifier I think but am not positive that it is a Scout with the top off. The scan did not really lose any of the detail that is in the original in that area. If not a Scout it is something that looks similar. At first I thought Ford Ranger but there does not appear to be a roof structure.
Fascinating… A “photobomb” in more ways than one.
It looks like the Baghdad car has a stand-up hood ornament, unlike a few of those in the factory photos.
I’m not at all surprised to see this car in Baghdad–I’m glad it’s survived. People like to act like Iraq’s been damaged by 35 years of war, but in truth, it’s been more like 25 years. During the ’80s, Iraq was a very wealthy, highly educated and modern country (with mounting debt as billions were spent filling the coffers of European and American weapons firms). I wonder what that ruin of a building looked like back in 1990, not to mention the cars.
At the time, Iraq was a significant member of the non-aligned movement, both a friend of both the Soviet sphere and the Western sphere. As the ’80s wore on, the country strayed from its non-aligned principles, with US support predominating in the ’80s as Iraq sought to exploit the war against a newly-fanatical Iran bolster its relationship and prestige with the West.
This latter point is salient in regards to Mr. Kim’s Baghdad post during Toyota week. The Toyotas were big in Iraq beginning in the early ’70s, an era during which a friendship pact was signed with the USSR. It was a different era in both countries’ histories; one during which Japan was willing to sell goods to most any country and prioritized its relationship with Arab world over Israel following the oil shock of ’73-’74 (which affected Japan much more severely than the US/Europe). Iraq was not unique, either, as Japan’s exports during the ’70s went to many non-aligned/Soviet-friendly countries; a very visible legacy of that today is Suzuki’s deeply-embedded position in the Indian car market.
More staunch US allies in the middle east, on the other hand, did not import much from Japan if oil was plentiful, and countries like Iran were huge markets for huge American cars (as Iraq ended up becoming as the ’80s progressed). That Toyota sold cars in Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia during the ’80s is testament to how much more luxurious and powerful their products were becoming during that time, because big American cars were still seen as more prestigious during the era.
South Korea during the ’90s was very much like Japan during the ’70s, with the Koreans signing lucrative contracts to build cars in Iran under license beginning twenty years ago, contracts which continue today.
Being a car fanatic, if you’re really in deep, you end up learning about different countries’ economies and other geopolitical realities. It will be fascinating to see how China’s auto industry evolves and the implications for the African auto market. Visible manifestations of this will bear fruit soon, with Beijing giving so much in development to African countries irrespective of their political orientation. Like Japan in the 60s and 70s and Korea in the 80s and 90s, establishing the country as an exporter of more expensive goods is the priority, and with Chinese ownership of companies like Volvo, the know-how will spread quickly. It should be an interesting decade.
This is an enlightening post. Thank you, Perry.
I too was not completely surprised that a fancy MB would surface in Baghdad. Wars and riches go together. The surprise was more that it was parked in front of war ruins. But then it is not too far from being a ruin itself.
I recall the pictures of war torn Beirut teeming with MB’s.
More articles please Perry. Miss your POV.
Nice detective work! I’ve always loved 4-door convertibles, factory or otherwise, and to find a rare coachbuilt one like this in such an unlikely place is a treat! I wonder if it still exists? Its condition in this photo would lean toward “no”, but maybe if it survived the worst of the war, it’s found caring ownership since then?
I see no Google Street View for Baghdad. That’s a pity! Maybe in the future, or there might even be some competitor already with views from the beginning Iraqi capital?
Remarkable story. This may be simplistic or naïve, but, wouldn’t MB or Caruna have kept a record of a VIN or some European equivalent ?
This could be traced down, at least as a starting point for identifying the initial buyer ….
Great work Robert! I have no doubt there will be M-B enthusiasts who try to get a hold of this car, similar to the guys who chased Auto Unions in Russia 40 years ago.
Strange-looking 8 point allen key in the trunk. hehehe
Great stuff Robert and nice spotting jerseyfred.
Speaking of war zones– here’s a clip of a man and his classic cars in Syria
robert, i always look forward to reading your articles here. this one is quite the stunner. kudos to jerseyfred!
I have one of those sel 500 4 door convertible
Do someone know the value of one steve.
If anyone know about this car get back to me at monetti1964@gmail.com thankyou
If interested in this car. Im looking to talk. Thanks
Who know about this car?