In September 1991, at the IAA in Frankfurt a fifth body variant of the medium-size class was presented - the 300 CE-24 Convertible. For the first time after a break of 20 years a four-door convertible was offered again. The development of the open variant, in which the coupé served as base, was carried out with high constructive efforts. In spite of the good fundament, about 1,000 new parts had to be newly constructed for stiffening the body. For almost all structural parts a thicker or high-strength steel sheet was used. All highly stressed spots were provided with additional reinforcements in the form of connection plates or braces. Especially efficient were the diagonal struts, already known from the SL. They secured the four corners of the body floor with the engine cross member and the spare-wheel pan. More than 130 kg additional sheet metal was necessary in order to compensate for the 28 kg of the missing coupé-roof. The series production of the 300 CE-24 Convertible only started six months after its presentation in Sindelfingen. Already six months later the convertible, like all models of the medium-size class, received a considerably improved interior equipment. It now included the airbag for the driver as well as electronically controlled outside mirrors left and right. A central locking system and a 5-speed gearbox, which had been included into the basic equipment of 124 series models at the same time, had been part of the standard equipment from the very beginning of the convertible production.
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