It’s Almost Worth It

There’s more to creating a convertible than decapitating a coupe.

At Mercedes-Benz--whose 1901 tourer was the topless foredaddy of them all--it took removal of a lid, then computer modeling and a full redesign around 1,000 new parts before the 1993 300CE Cabriolet was born.

Not an ounce of effort--to say nothing of 385 pounds of reinforcing metal--has been wasted.

This soft-top version of the 300CE coupe is another standard, just one more brilliant in a line that maintains a perfect score in excellence of automotive design and engineering by Mercedes.

Would that we could find even a minor flaw to raise part of one eyebrow to justify the critic’s role. Maybe the car is a little fussy with gadgets. It could certainly enroll in Weight Watchers. Soft-top stowage means reduced trunk room, and rear-seat passengers are obliged to play knees-up.

But the Teutonic thoroughness that once was Leica and extends through Braun, and the high technology that long lived with Willi Messerschmitt continue to flourish at Mercedes-Benz. Its advertisements may actually understate the cars.

Rigidity was the single demon Mercedes-Benz knew must be tamed when it decided to reconfigure the 300CE coupe into the Cabriolet, the company’s first four-seat convertible in 21 years.

An automobile roof may weigh only 60 pounds. But once it is removed, the main body structure goes limp, a chassis becomes swayback and 80% of the car’s original rigidity is lost. So is most of the car’s capability to absorb frontal impact without folding and mutilating the center section and any occupants.

At speed, a coupe beheaded with no modifications becomes a wandering fool. Handling dissolves, braking gets snaky and body panels do the rumba.

Enter Guntram Huber, the same engineer responsible for the 280SE, Mercedes-Benz’s last cabriolet, which became extinct when demand for convertibles sagged in 1971.

(Of course, a pristine 280SE droptop today fetches $75,000 at auction--about what Mercedes wants for the new 300CE convertible.)

Herr Huber, now M-B’s head body man for passenger car development, poured all his reinforcing talents into the 300CE.

The A pillars (windshield posts) and the bottom half of the B pillars (center door posts on a sedan or coupe) were rebuilt with thicker steel. Cross members were added, as were diagonal braces front and rear. Side beams were reinforced, a double floor was added and even the transmission tunnel and floor pans were strengthened.

Then the whole was computer monitored, vibration hot spots noted and each critical area--particularly behind rear wheels and atop the windshield frame--were fitted with vibration dampers.

Even the Cabriolet’s motor mounts have been tuned so that engine vibration opposes the torsional vibration, the twisting and turning of the body under power.

Give that man a bratwurst.

The result is a convertible without a quiver, no matter road roughness or driver mishandling.

With soft top down or up, the Cabriolet’s silhouette is almost identical to the coupe--classic, elegant and generally unstreamlined Mercedes.

Body paneling is identical except for a slight sweep to the rear deck, which allows storage of the semi-automatic top.

Semi -automatic? Sure. But the only manual effort involves easily unlatching two windshield catches.

The top--lined, of course, and fully insulated to keep out a Wilhelmshaven winter--is raised or stowed by one finger on a single console button. Those watching this 20-second hydraulic orchestration of lowered windows, flapping lids and folding frames have been known to applaud final closure.

The Cabriolet is also rich with conveniences close to mechanical butlers.

Instead of a prominent rollover bar--as with the Mercedes 300 and 500SL two-seaters--skull security is provided by hefty U-shaped tombstones--er, hoops of steel--camouflaged by foam and leather as rear-seat headrests.

They are raised or retracted by a dashboard switch. Even if fully retracted, a spring action will pop and lock them into place in .3 second once sensors “feel” the car is preparing to go grubby side up.

Then there are the luxuries--which Mercedes traditionally regards as essentials--of driver-and passenger-side air bags, power seats with memories, burled walnut adding deep luster to dashboard and doors, electrically adjustable steering column, leather upholstery and automatic air.

The interior assemblage brings nothing new, no fresh curves, no redesigned instruments, no classier arrangement of armrests or sound system controls. They remain unchanged because this interior was rich, pure and handsome in the first place.

If only the Cabriolet--which looks every inch an interstate powerhouse--could have been equipped with a V-8. Mercedes says the big iron doesn’t fit, so powertrain engineers have borrowed a 24-valve, 3.2-liter, inline-six developing 217 horsepower from the company’s S-Class sedans.

Hooked to a four-speed automatic transmission--a five-speed manual is not a Cabriolet option--engine torque is quite enough to smartly tug this two-ton car into its weighty, super-stable role of interstate cruiser in sneakers.

Around town, and wearing exquisite, eight-hole egg poacher wheels, the car is surprisingly nimble. Even stoplight Shirley Muldowneys will not be disappointed in a 0-60 m.p.h. time of 8.6 seconds.

Yet the proof of any convertible is two measurements. How many hair plugs are lost with the top down? How drafty remains the day with the top up?

The first is a breeze, pun intended. Credit here goes to a detachable wind blocker, a stiff mesh cover and a low screen that fits over the back seats to subdue wind noise and cabin turbulence even at rather frantic touring speeds.

Unfortunately, it works only with rear seats empty. With rear seats filled, there is a high risk of sieving close friends.

The second is snug silence. With top up and latched, the Cabriolet displays zero wind hiss at freeway speeds and no need for shouted conversations.

This car--which has no head-on competition as a luxury, four-place convertible--is heavy to the hand and a little numb to the seat of the pants. But this is quintessential to Mercedes and the ride class that says you are in a strong, quality car built to protect buyers’ bodies and embellish their lifestyles.

The 300CE Cabriolet fully endorses another Mercedes tradition by being over-engineered by several tolerances. It is horribly expensive. In terms of getting from point A to B in a simple, economical fashion, the car is unrealistic to the point of hedonism.

And whistling around town in a Cabriolet imparts a feeling of self-indulgence that can be downright embarrassing to anyone but Prince Charles.

But before we leave this life, everybody should own one.

Or at least rent one for a week.

1993 Mercedes-Benz 300CE Cabriolet

COST: * Base: $76,500 * As tested: $78,090 (includes automatic transmission, leather upholstery, driver and passenger air bags, traction control, automatic climate control, anti-lock brakes, burl walnut trim, automatic top and power seats).

ENGINE: * 3.2 liter, 24-valve, in-line six developing 217 horsepower.

TYPE: * Four-passenger, rear-drive convertible.

PERFORMANCE: * 0-60 m.p.h., as tested, 8.6 seconds. * Top speed, estimated, 135 m.p.h. * Fuel consumption, EPA city and highway, with automatic, 18 and 23 m.p.g.

CURB WEIGHT: * 4,025 pounds.

THE GOOD: * Alfresco performance and panache. * Conversion from coupe with none of the shakes. * Sturdy, crash-resistant engineering. * Five-star quality.

THE BAD: Pricey.

THE UGLY: Life without owning a Mercedes, just once.