G R E AT M A R Q U E S : M E R C E D E S - B E N Z
DD CLASSICS / ADAM SHAH
SPONSORED BY
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing With the American sports car scene booming in the early 1950s, US MercedesBenz importer Max Hoffman saw an opportunity for a toned-down GP car for affluent customers. The
result was the 300SL Gullwing, powered by a 3.0-litre straight-six with 240bhp – good for a 9.3-second 0-60mph sprint and 146mph top speed, making it the world’s fastest
1962 Mercedes 220SE Cabriolet Although the W111 220SE Cabriolet and Coupé shared many of their underpinnings with the saloon variant, Paul Bracq’s styling flourishes elevate the two-door models to entirely new heights. It could be argued that although the 300SL models were the halo cars, it’s these more readily available production models that did more to promote the ThreePointed Star’s brand
52
fundamentals on a more regular basis. After all, you were more likely to see one of these on the road, even if they remained relatively rare. The 220SE used a 2.2litre six-cylinder engine that produced 120bhp. The example on display was originally delivered to the UK, and was specified with a manual gearbox, which is rarely seen. It was restored by John Haynes around ten years ago.
production car at the time. The 300SL had a tubular frame designed by head engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut, and which weighed 82kg. The body was largely steel, although the bonnet,
bootlid, dash, sills and door skins were aluminium. A fully alloy-bodied version, which was 130kg lighter, was made available for racing – just 29 were built. This particular example
has been painstakingly restored by marque experts. Finished in Schwarz over a Crema interior, it boasts fitted luggage and still has its original belly pans.
