UK_Owner

I'm trying to work out how - and by what name, such as possibly Factory Order - people may specify cars that the main dealers simply don't bother with. In the UK its been the case for some years now, and getting worse, that Mercedes UK simply do not import/offer cars with such a wide range of interiors and trims as for the rest of the world. They're lazily playing everyone for fools, for their own convenience and profit, in generally just offering black seats, black plastic, black headliner ... just yuck yuck yuck. Whereas, just choosing at random, the US or Cyprus, will have light interiors, walnut trim etc. I've loosely heard that if you order direct from the factory then its still possible to get such things for the UK. But what's the 'way in' to that secret world?

Eaton

All you should need to do is download the price list from the MB UK website, and then spec out your build and send to the dealer.
However, I think the UK has limited customization options, so you may not be able to get much more.
Depending on the model you can also ask to start a MANUFATUR order where you can get any paint and interior choice you want.

superswiss

What you are looking for is generally referred to as a custom order. That's a car ordered to customer spec, but you don't have free reign. You can only order what's available on the dealer order guide. Available options are tailored to each market, and not every market gets everything. Dealers stock configurations that are most likely to sell, but to see all the possible interior options etc. go to the configurator on the MB UK website and configure the car the way you want. You still can't go beyond what's available in the configurator, though. Designo manufaktur is the only other option to essentially order a custom interior and/or exterior paint. It varies by model as said above. It's not offered for all models. A quick Google search seems to suggest it's only available for the G Class in the UK.