This special 220S Coupe remained in the same family for the first 61 years of its life, was toured extensively throughout Europe from from new until 1962 and today wears an absolutely world class restoration in its original colors of 334G Hellblau over 1068 natural leather. In addition to sporting the rarest body style Mercedes-Benz offered for the 220S model, this hand finished two-door luxury coupe comes with unique features such as rare bird’s-eye maple wood, dealer-installed air conditioning circa 1961, pristine original Karl Baisch luggage and an optional Becker Mexico radio. A one owner car from 1959 until 2020, this rarely seen German luxury coupe wears a no-expense-spared restoration having seen only the finest in care from the day it was bought new.
Highlights
- Single family ownership 1959 – 2020
- Superb restoration in original colors
- US Spec European Delivery
- Extensively toured in Europe ’59 – ’62
- Documented from new
- Chassis no. 180037-10-9508696
- Engine no. 180924-10-9506736
- 334G Hellblau paint
- 1068 natural leather
- Birds-eye maple wood
- Becker Mexico Radio
- Original Karl Baisch suitcase set
- Rare dealer-installed air conditioning
- Original books and tools
- Original service booklet
- Copy of factory data card
- 2,195 SOHC inline 6-cylinder engine
- 4-speed manual transmission
- 4-wheel drum brakes
- 77,858 miles from new
Ponton Mercedes Dream
Timelessly elegant, the 220S Mercedes-Benz model was hand-finished German luxury at its finest in the late 1950’s, with the coupe body-style being the rarest of the three iterations produced. Just 1,251 220S two-door coupes were built between late 1956 and 1959, a number which stands in stark contrast to 2,178 Cabriolets and more than 55,000 4-door sedans. The 220S two-door cars, particularly the hand finished coupes, were prohibitively expensive in their day, costing nearly 75% more than the high production four-door Sedans. While both the coupe and cabriolet versions of the 220S remain rare and desirable, the number of factory built coupes that still exist today has, by some estimates, dwindled into the low to mid hundreds making a top level example increasingly sought after by Mercedes-Benz collectors. The 220S 180 engine is a 106 hp inline six-cylinder engine with dual Solex downdraft carburetors paired to a 4-speed manual transmission that yields an increased performance capacity over its predecessors. The car’s mechanical reliability is the perfect compliment to the absolutely jewel-like fit and finish so famously applied to these luxury cars by the legendary craftsmen at the Sindelfingen production plant in Germany.
One owner until 2020, elegantly restored in 334G Hellblau paint as original. High quality 220S Coupes are an outright rarity today with few high level examples in existence. To restore one of these luxurious Mercedes today, one could easily expect to pay 3 times the asking price of the example offered here in restoration costs alone.
The beautiful 220S Coupe offered here must be, by any consideration, one of the finest examples of its kind in the world. So few of these Ponton S Coupes remain in truly top class original or restored condition today, with our company having never seen another to match what is seen here. Having had only one owner from new until 2020, this unique example has been meticulously restored by well-known US based Mercedes-Benz collector and restorer Dr. L. Philip Lutfy, MD of Phoenix Arizona. Dr. Lutfy, as a tribute to his mother who purchased the car new, went to great lengths in his pursuit of a world class refurbishment of the car, finishing it to his extremely high standards in its beautiful original colors of 334G Hellblau paint over 1068 natural leather with luxurious bird’s eye-maple wood on the dash and door tops. Due to Dr. Lutfy’s unusually meticulous standards of storage in the desert climate of Phoenix, Arizona where his world class collection resided for nearly 60 years, this special 220 appears as if it was restored only a few years ago despite being completed in the 1990’s.
Spectacular in every way, the interior of the car is luxury as its finest as a top-of-the-line Mercedes-Benz model hand finished at Sindelfingen. Still retained by the car is the original, optional Becker Mexico radio as well as the rare dealer-installed air conditioning unit for cool air comfort.
This special 220S Coupe sports rare, early 1960’s dealer-installed air conditioning under the dash, while in the trunk space a set of pristine original Karl Baisch suitcases add further rarity to the fabulous overall package of qualities on offer. In addition to the impressive record keeping from new and original documentation retained in the car’s history file, historically relevant original keepsakes are with the car today, including metal grill badges acquired from locales all over Europe. Location badges include Sweden, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Monaco, Holland, Switzerland, Madrid, Capri, Austria, Belgium and Great Britain; all of which were acquired by the cars original owner between 1959 and 1962 during her adventures through Europe as a professional trap and skeet shooter. The car even retains the original quart of Mercedes-Benz paint, still filled with factory supplied 334G light blue paint that came with the car when new, in the event a touch up was ever needed.
A timeless, striking Mercedes design, the exterior of the 220S Coupe model is defined by its beautiful chrome trim pieces, “pontoon” style front fenders and a typically imposing Mercedes luxury car front grill.
Mrs. Bertha “Tiny” Lutfy of Phoenix, Arizona, the original owner of the stunning 1959 Mercedes-Benz 220S Coupe featured here, was a world traveler and professional champion trap-and-skeet shooter. She competed in the days when target pigeons were not made of clay, and she traveled extensively throughout the United States, Mexico and Europe on the trap-and-skeet marksmanship competition circuit. Prior to purchasing this 220S Coupe on one of her many escapades through Europe, Tiny bought a used 1957 Mercedes 219 sedan from a friend on the continent as a means of traveling from one shooting event to the next. While she would sell the ’57 Mercedes 219 upon returning to the United States the next year, the quality of the car had made enough of an impression on Tiny that when it came time to order a new car, her destiny in automotive travel was clear; she was going to buy a brand new Mercedes.
With beautiful bird’s eye maple wood complimented by similarly toned natural leather on the seats and door panels, the interior of this inspiring Mercedes-Benz provides an unforgettable luxury experience even before ignition occurs.
“In those days,” recalled Dr. Philip Lutfy, Tiny’s eldest son and longtime keeper of the 220S, “the car companies back then promoted European delivery–you’d save some money by picking it up in Europe instead of buying the car new through a local dealer and having it delivered here. A European-delivery 220S like Mom’s was something like $5,800 with overseas delivery in 1959, while it was $7,000 through the local dealer here in the States. They’d help arrange for your flight over and everything. What’s more, when she brought it back to the States, it returned as a used car, so the import duty was less than it was buying a new one.”
From 1959 until 1962, “Tiny” Lutfy toured her light blue 220 S Coupe through Europe as a professional trap-and-skeet shooter. With shotgun in tow, she traveled to and collected badges from Sweden, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Monaco, Holland, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and Great Britain.
Philip recalled, “So Mom went to the dealer to order her car; she was intrigued by the fuel injection, and inquired about it. But the salesman advised against it: He said ‘no, fuel injection is brand-new this year; they still have to work the bugs out.’ The result of this visit to the dealership ended in Tiny’s purchase of the car offered here, an elegant USA version of the Mercedes 220S Coupe painted 334G “Hellblau” Light Blue with 1068 natural leather upholstery, bird’s eye maple wood, front and rear seating compartments with armrests, 5 white wall tires and the optional Becker Mexico radio. All was set, the Mercedes was being readied at Sindelfingen, and off Tiny went, back to Europe to gather her brand-new Ponton Mercedes dream.
The 2,195 SOHC inline 6-cylinder engine is complimented by 4 speed manual shifting. The engine bay, like the rest of the car, is beautifully and authentically restored.
Dr. Lutfy continued, “At one point, mom sent the car back to Phoenix to have air conditioning put in, then had it shipped back to Europe. When we were on vacation in Europe, I drove it mostly to sharpen up my driving skills. I was very lucky. We’d be over there–my brother, my sister, my mother and I–and we’d drive to some little town early in the morning to get fresh bread, then we’d get to another town to get some wine, and by noon we’d stop on the highway and have a picnic. There were roadside tables for this along the way–all you’d have to do was get out a tablecloth and spread out. We always had packaged food in the car, with different specialties from different countries.” These were good times, but after many adventures throughout the European Continent, by 1963 the 220S was back in Phoenix, Arizona at the Lutfy home where it would stay for the next 57 years.
Accentuated by subtlety, a front view of the car displays not only the stately grill but also the appealing design of the hood. Additionally, the body-following chrome trim pieces that run from the rear fenders and along the doors meet up and curve elegantly into the headlight trim rings.
Tiny was 96 years old when she passed away in 2013. Even though she’d gone through a number of other European cars over the course of life, from Jaguar to Rolls-Royce, she always had a soft spot for the 220S Coupe. “She really liked cars, and took good care of them,” son Philip remembered. “She loved this 220S, because it brought back so many fond memories of her traveling in Europe from one trap-and-skeet shoot to the other with her shotgun in the back. She also loved it for outings, picnics and occasionally for extended vacation trips when we were over there in Europe early on in the cars life. I know she really appreciated me taking it all apart and making it better than what it was, when I finally got around to restoring it.”
A rare set of original Karl Baisch suitcases fill the trunk space. Underneath the suitcases is the original rubber trunk mat and to the side, the original spare tire which has never touched the ground. Additionally, keepsakes of originality such as an original 334 light blue paint can delivered with the car when it was new come with the car.
It’s an understatement to say that the Lutfy family was pleased enough with Tiny’s 220S purchase that they became a Mercedes family from then on. Philip noted ”We got a four-door 190 sedan in 1960, for my sister Nan and me to take to Phoenix College. We drove it for years.” Dr. Philip Lutfy would go on to own over 150 top level Mercedes during the course of his collecting career, and it all started with Tiny’s 220S Coupe. In the 1990’s, Philip Lutfy made the decision to perform restoration work on his mother’s 220 S Coupe. “I got the car for free and spent way more money restoring it then what it was worth, but I thought, so what, it’s Mom’s car.” The result of the restoration, a labor of love by a son in honor of his mother, is nothing short of breathtaking. A world class Mercedes restoration, one capable of holding its own on any show field in the world.
Luxurious wood and leather continue into the rear seating compartment. Bench seating for 2 or 3 offers an unusual opportunity for use on special occasions or during a group night out at dinner, with style.
Today, the Lutfy family 220S Coupe is unquestionably an exceptional car. Having always been stored in Dr. L. Philip Lutfy’s climate controlled collection facility in Phoenix, Arizona. The restoration appears fresh today having seen very limited use and public exposure since completion. As one of the very few 220S Coupes in the world to have received such a comprehenisive expert restoration, it is an example that draws the eye and is often the center of attention, regardless of what other cars might be present in the room it occupies. The paint, interior and chrome are all in top level show quality condition, as is the engine bay. A no excuses, stunning example of German engineering and simply one of the most authentic Mercedes-Benz one will come across from this timeless era of luxury.
Simple and sophisticated, the two-door coupe 220 Mercedes design is almost universally regarded as a model that is easy on the eyes from all angles.
This Mercedes-Benz 220S Coupe comes dressed in a superb, labor-of-love restoration performed by the son of the original owner as a tribute to her. Finished in 334 Hellblau paint and 1068 naturarl leather as original, with luxurious birds-eye maple wood, optional Becker Mexico radio, a dealer installed period air conditioning unit and pristine original Karl Baisch Luggage in the trunk, this fabulous W180 Mercedes comes with exceptional documentation from new, all original books and tools while sporting 77,858 original miles from new. Additional historical flavor includes over a dozen European grill badges gathered in the early 1960’s during the original owners adventures and the car also has its original spare wheel and tire along with an original can of Mercedes-Benz factory paint that came with the car when purchased new. A special Mercedes of unusual quality and one of the very few 220S Coupes in the world in such an exceptional condition for show, matched by an incredible history of single family ownership from new.
