This is a 300SE Cabriolet. It was built in June of 1967 for the September Frankfurt Auto Show.
The Produktions Auftrag 1 shows a ZU997 Code which designates a car assembled for Show as a "Standwagen" IAA Frankfurt Germany. According to documents from archives at Mercedes Benz the 300SE Cabriolet was shown in Hall 5, Stand 805 of the Automobile Ausstellung(IAA) Frankfurt.
The photos show extensive show prep in Chroming under the hood to throttle linkages, injection lines, Oil filler cap, lifting eyes on engine, some hose clamps and black paint applied to valve cover as well as polishing of intake manifolds. The Safety upgrades of a 1968 were applied to this car as an example of what was coming in the new year only a couple of months later. The Dash has been softened and the dash instrument bezels, formerly wood, were factory leather covered. Rear view mirror has unpolished chrome to avoid glare on reflections. Front seats have vacuum interlocking mechanism to prevent seats backs from moving to the front during a crash. Brakes are improved over 1967 and over all safety has been enhanced for 1968 which was all applied to this automobile. I can say that I have only seen two other autos from this line built to the 68 standards of safety/styling. 1967 was the last official year for either coupe or convertible 300SE manufacture but a few, very few, like this one came out with the 1968 style and safety changes. These are the rarest of the rare in the 300SE line. This car was purchased from the original owner in approximately 1985 and brought to the US by it's second owner. I purchased from him in 1988 and have had it since then. It originally had a 5 piece set of luggage with it but the guy I bought it from didn't know that and didn't ask for it when he bought the car in Germany at an estate sale. I did shop for some but never saw a 5 piece set from the appropriate year.