300 SL with gull wing doors, Pagoda, R107 which conquered America in particular thanks to the Dallas series, the facets of the Mercedes SL are multiple. A look back at a saga that began 70 years ago.
As an eighth generation, 4-seater 4-wheel drive engine designed by AMG looms on the horizon, the Mercedes SL remains one of the most emblematic achievements of the brand with the star. Historically, SLs have represented the technological achievement and the know-how of the manufacturer. In German, SL means “Sport Leicht” in other words “Sport Léger”, today if Sport is still the order of the day, the car has really moved away from the idea of lightness. While the race for power has never ceased.
TO READ. Mercedes-AMG SL (2021). 4 places, and 4 driving wheels
Born of competition
It all started with the competition!
Originally, the Mercedes SL was a competition model produced in 11 units. Co-engineered in 1951, the car distinguished itself by winning the 1952 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and then the Carrera Panamericana in South America. In 1954, the Stuttgart brand refined the recipe while retaining the famous gull-wing doors. The model will also be available in a roadster version which will subsequently become the only silhouette offered.
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From coupe to convertible
Apart from the gull-wing doors, the roadster retains the fantastic plastic of the coupe.
Along with the 300 SL roadster, a 190 career version with a 105 hp engine that is not really sporty. In the 1960s, the curves gave way to clearly tighter lines. It is the Frenchman Paul Bracq who is in the driver’s seat. The mythical Pagoda was so nicknamed because of its hard-top whose pavilion evokes the Japanese construction architecture maximizing the light on board.
In the early 1970s, the Mercedes SL wanted to woo America. The car takes volume and stretches its lines. She was shown in many films in the country of Uncle Sam and also conveyed many stars of the small screen like Jonathan and Jennifer Hart the billionaire vigilantes of the series For the love of risk. It’s hard to find better ambassadors.
Safety comes into play
Secure, it was the first car to benefit from a retractable roll bar, rising in three tenths of a second.
During the last decade of the 20e century, the Mercedes SL changes gear. It makes safety its credo as evidenced by its retractable arch in three tenths of a second. The anti-rollover asset par excellence. The R230 generation made the pleasure last by remaining in the catalog for more than twelve years. It abandons the canvas top in favor of a retractable hardtop which is then the ultimate headgear. Appeared in 2001, it received a first restyling in 2006 then a second in 2008. The latter transformed the front of the car. The current Mercedes SL was launched in 2012 and still predominantly appeals to the American market. Its engine range covers a wide spectrum from the 306 hp V6 to the 630 hp V12.
