1979 Mercedes-Benz 280 TE Wagon

Factory specification is outstanding. Under the bonnet is the M110 inline‑six with Bosch K‑Jetronic mechanical fuel injection—the most powerful engine offered in the W123T range and the first year of the 280TE designation. The car is equipped with automatic transmission, automatic climate control with air conditioning, central locking, anti‑solar glass, roll‑up front windows, and beautiful zebrano wood on the dash. Comfort and touring features include a Becker Mexico cassette radio with automatic antenna, and the highly desirable rear‑facing third‑row seat, giving true seven‑passenger capability in a classic Mercedes wagon. The rare Nickel Green/Moss Green MB‑Tex and blue‑green cloth combination was available only on first‑series W123s, making this specification especially unusual to the point of being irreplaceable.

The car’s story is as compelling as its specification. Ordered new on 30 May 1979 by Lorenzo Nesta Dimarco through the Zico Mercedes‑Benz dealer in Caracas, Venezuela, it was collected at the Sindelfingen factory on 8 June 1979. Lorenzo drove it on a European delivery trip through the Alps to his hometown of Avellino, Italy, where it was parked—still on its temporary customs plates—in his garage. Following the devastating 1980 Irpinia earthquake, a landslide surrounded the building which housed the car, leaving it trapped and unused while Lorenzo’s life and business remained centered in Caracas.

In 1994 Lorenzo sold the unseen and entombed wagon to Rosiana Idolo, a fellow Caposele native, yet even under this second ownership the car was neither registered nor driven. After Mr. Idolo’s death in April 2018, his daughter finally freed the 280TE from its 38‑year hibernation and offered it for sale. A dealer in Verona, Marcello, acquired the car, carried out light recommissioning, and sold it to US based Mercedes specialist. Since emerging from storage the car has had only a handful of caretakers, including two U.S. owners; usage has remained minimal. Today the odometer still shows just over 6,000 km—extraordinary for any W123, let alone a 280TE gasoline wagon.

Since arriving in the United States, this special Mercedes-Benz wagon—affectionately known as “Verona”—has been sympathetically serviced regularly and most recently by Mercedes-Benz experts at Scott Grundfor Co. with a focus on mechanical safety and reliability with attention paid to preserving the time-capsule-original aesthetics. There are no outstanding mechanical or cosmetic needs; everything operates exactly as it should. The car has never required any restoration or repainting, and it retains a level of originality that makes it an exceptional reference example. Its preservation quality was recognized when it appeared at Legends of the Autobahn and during Monterey Car Week in 2019, and it has subsequently changed hands privately at significant values, underscoring its status in the market.

For the serious Mercedes‑Benz collector seeking a blue‑chip W123T, this 1979 280TE offers a unique blend of provenance, specification, and condition: first‑series, first‑year 280TE; ultra‑rare color combination; fully documented and verified 6,088 km from new; never registered, never restored, and 100% original throughout. It is equally suited to preservation‑class concours, a Mercedes museum‑style display, or discreet enjoyment as perhaps the finest and most original long‑roof W123 left in private hands.