Mercedes-Benz Large Sedan · Typ 230

W153

Facelifted 230 for the last peacetime and wartime years.

Production
1938–1943
Built
4,262
Body
Sedan & roadster
Chassis
W153
Mercedes-Benz Large Sedan (W153)

A facelifted 230 for harder times — the W153 carried Mercedes-Benz's six-cylinder saloon line through the last peacetime model years and into wartime production without pretending the world had not changed.

Mercedes-Benz updated the Typ 230 for 1938: revised styling, refined six-cylinder mechanicals, and a body range that still ran from closed saloons to cabriolets even as factory priorities shifted toward military contracts. The W153 shared the fundamental architecture of the W143 it replaced but read as a cleaner, more modern car — the final evolution of the pre-war six-cylinder mainstream.

4,262 were built on the W153 chassis between 1938 and 1943. It was the last substantial six-cylinder passenger program before postwar Mercedes-Benz began an entirely new design language.

W153 interior
Cabin details of the W153, as preserved in period photography.

Every model.

3 distinct series across 1938–1943 — each identified by its chassis and engine numbers from period factory data.

ModelloModel yearTelaioMotoreCambioTotale
Type 230 Sedan1939–19431531534,210
Type 230 SV Roadster1938–1939153153 Sincluso sopra
Type 230 SV Roadster1938153143 S52

* Il dato di produzione pubblicato copre tutte le serie di quel modello; la fonte non lo scompone ulteriormente.

W153 side profile
Studio profile of the W153 — the proportions that defined this chassis.
W153 rear three-quarter view
Rear three-quarter view of the W153.

Engines.

The M143 and M153 as fitted to the W153.

M153

Inline-6
  • 153 2.3 L · 2,289 cc

    56 PS

    41 kW · 55 hp a 3,500 giri/min

    137 N·m

    101 lb·ft a 1,800 giri/min

  • 153 S 2.3 L · 2,289 cc

    58 PS

    43 kW · 58 hp a 3,800 giri/min

    141 N·m

    104 lb·ft a 1,800 giri/min

M143

Inline-6
  • 143 S 2.2 L · 2,229 cc

    58 PS

    43 kW · 58 hp a 3,800 giri/min

    139 N·m

    103 lb·ft a 1,800 giri/min