Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupe 1954 - 1963 - Model history

New York, 1954 - Birth of a Star

Seven years after the end of the war, the Stuttgart carmaker was pretty firm on its feet. On such occasions, the opportunity arose to create the first post-war supersport car that will represent achievements in its best appearance and technology Mercedes-Benz experts. In 1952, Mercedes sends the first prototype of an unusual coupe to the legendary Mille Miglia race, to which no one has yet paid too much attention. But, on February 6, 1954, at the New York Motor Show, Mercedes presented a sensation - the Mercedes 300 SL Coupe model in the traditional Stuttgart sports silver color. The star was born!

1954 - direct injection!

The seductive styling of this beautiful car was, and still is, like a magnet. Fantastic concept of a low sports car with a long bonnet and a small cabin with a hitherto unseen door (seagull wings) that opened left the impression that the car would take off, all shaped by incredibly elegant, yet sporty lines were prerequisites for the Mercedes 300 SL it instantly becomes a dream car.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL Coupe

It's impossible to decide if it's a nicer Gullwing front end with a dominant grille and a beautiful chrome bumper, or a nicer side silhouette with genius wings above the fenders and perfect vents behind the front wheels, or a small sexy butt. With the avant-garde design of the Mercedes 300 SL Coupe, it was a sensation on the technical side as well. The chassis was made of special tubes and the advanced three-liter inline six-cylinder engine was tilted to achieve the lowest possible silhouette of the car's nose. In addition, Gullwing's R6 engine was the first engine in the world to directly inject fuel into cylinders, a system that other manufacturers began implementing 45 years later. With direct fuel injection, the Gullwing engine developed 40 horsepower more than the racing version with the classic carburetor. Ingenious!

Only for the select few

Clearly, a top sports car must have had a "top" price of 26 DEM, it doesn't seem like much now, but at that time it was a real treasure. And so Gullwing became a mere object of desire for ordinary mortals, and the clientele, which was not lacking, consisted largely of Hollywood and sports stars, wealthy businessmen, and Middle Eastern sheikhs. Jordan’s King Hussein, Sophia Loren, Tony Curtis, Stirling Moss - these are just some of the celebrities attracted by the magnetic appeal of the Mercedes-Benz coupe. Gullwing was a matter of prestige and spoke of the owner’s taste over a thousand words.

"The sports car of the future has become a reality"

With all the technical advances and looks of a true super sports car, everyone was looking forward to the first test drive. The renowned German magazine "auto, motor und sport" described the Mercedes 300 SL as follows: "Of all today's sports cars, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL is also the most refined and fascinating of all - the dream car." The British "AutoSport" wrote: "The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL is a car with a beautiful exterior and almost incredible performance. Its design and technical quality border on perfection, and the whole concept represents an uncompromising realization of the new ideas that the car embodies. ” The American "Road & Track" was no less impressed: "When a comfortable interior is combined with extremely good handling, almost intimidating road holding, light but at the same time perfectly precise steering and performance that is at the level or even better than the best cars of today, then one can only say: the sports car of the future has become a reality. ”

1954 - 232 km / h

Gullwing’s 2996 cc six-cylinder engine was mounted forward longitudinally, had two valves per cylinder and the aforementioned direct fuel injection into the cylinders. Top power was 215 hp at 5800 rpm which was enough for the top performance of 1293 kilograms of light car. It reached 100 km / h in 7.2 seconds, and the top speed at that time was a whopping 232 km / h for one passenger car. Mercedes has also competed with the SL in various sports competitions. In addition to the serial competition model, a special racing model was made - 300 SLR - with an eight-cylinder engine with the highest power between 276 - 310 hp. With this model, Stirling Moss won the legendary Mille Miglia race in 1955 and in Germany, Sweden, Ireland and Sicily, which finally resulted in the title of world team champion for silver arrows from Stuttgart.

Sports car of the century

By 1957 Mercedes-Benz delivered 1400 copies of this fascinating car. If you want to own a part of the legend today, you have to be well-informed since rare copies are sold. Prices vary depending on the whims of clients and owners, but 250 euros is a "fair" price for a well-preserved copy of the legend, which was named in 000 at an international competition - the sports car of the century.

Engine: In-line, 6-cylinder
Volume (cm3): 2996
Power (kW / HP): 158/215 @ 5800min
Acceleration 0-100 km / h (s): 7.2
Top speed (km / h) 232
Dimensions LxWxH (mm): 4217x1778x1300