From a brand that has produced countless iconic models throughout its century-long history, the 300SL is possibly the most iconic model of them all. The Mercedes-Benz 300SL “Gullwing” turned 70 years old on February 6th, dating from when it was unveiled on that same date in 1954 in New York. The 300SL (W198) was immediately lauded for its elegant design and innovative powertrain. Mercedes Benz of Plano explores what made the 300SL the legend it is.
Born from Racing
It was originally descended from the W194 racecar that was victorious in both the 1952 240 hours of Le Mans and the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico; the latter was considered at the time to be the most dangerous race of any type in the world. Aside from the W194 featureless side panels, the 300SL closely resembled the W194 from the windshield back but had a much more attractive face with the addition of a bumper and the now iconic wide intake grille.
Built with America in Mind
It was famed car importer Max Hoffman who suggested there would be an American market for a street version of the W194, and Mercedes-Benz agreed to build 1,000 of them. Hoffman’s influence can be seen in the fact that the car was first shown at the 1954 New York Auto Show rather than Frankfurt or Geneva, where Mercedes Benz models were usually revealed. The 300SL was accompanied by a smaller 190SL roadster, of which Hoffman also ordered 1000 units. The original price of the 300SL was DM 29,000 or $6,820, equivalent to about $77,252 in today’s dollars.
Powering the 300SL was a 3.0-liter inline-6 with an overhead cam and - a first for a production car - fuel injection. The engine produced 215 horsepower, which may seem tame by today’s standards, but propelled the 300 SL to 155 mph, establishing it as the fastest production car at the time. It helped that the car had a light, rigid 110-pound space frame, and the whole car weighed just 3,300 pounds.
About Those Doors
The frame led to the car’s famous doors. It was high on the side, leaving only about a foot for the door in the body. With about another foot and a half for the window frame, that would have left a roughly 2.5-foot space to crawl through, so the door opening was extended across the roof and top hinged just so a driver and passenger could get in and out without contorting their bodies. This was actually an improvement over the race car’s doors that opened the same way but only came down to the bottom of the window.
As it is, a 300SL can still be challenging to get in and out of. With the door open, you first sit on the nearly foot-wide sill and then slide into the seat. The car with the doors open immediately prompted the nickname “Gullwing,” though that has never been official Mercedes-Benz nomenclature.
A Racing Legend
The 300SL was the Mercedes-Benz production-based race car and quickly became legendary. Werner Engel drove it to win the 1955 European Rally Championship. Stirling Moss won the overall title at the 1955 Mille Miglia in a 300 SLR racing car, and John Fitch won his class in a production 300SL coupe. Olivier Gendebien drove a 300SL to win the 1955 Liege-Rome-Liege rally, with a 300SL winning the same event the following year driven by Willy Mairesse. The 300 SL also won the Sports Car Club of America Class D championship in 1955, ‘56, and ‘57.
Approximately 1,400 300SL coupes were built in all, and those not lost to racing or other accidents regularly sell for seven figures. The highest ever paid for a 300SL was in January of 2024 at Barrett-Jackson’s annual Scottsdale auction, where a 1956 300SL sold for $3.41 million.
“The 300SL played an important role in the United States … [and] really showed the best of what Mercedes-Benz could offer,” says Michael F. Kunz, Manager of Mercedes-Benz Classic Center USA. “… It IS Mercedes-Benz.”.
While a 300SL exudes character that is impossible to match today, current Mercedes-Benz models continue the tradition of engineering excellence and are better vehicles by almost any measurement. They are safer, more comfortable, handle better, and no Mercedes model today produces just 215 horsepower. We won’t guarantee that it will sell for millions of dollars in seventy years, but a new model from Mercedes-Benz of Plano could well be the biggest icon in your personal automobile history.
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