FOR SALE: 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing

Should you’re searching for a extremely authentic and able to drive Gullwing, this 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing at the moment provided on Bring A Trailer is pretty much as good because it will get.

On the behest of American importer Max Hoffman, Mercedes developed the 300SL as a sports activities automotive aimed toward engaging US patrons. It was based mostly on the corporate’s W194 sports activities racers, which featured upward-opening doorways to accommodate the excessive sills of its light-weight tubular house body. The manufacturing model of the 300SL, unveiled on the 1954 Worldwide Motor Sports activities Present in New York, used metal for the bodywork and aluminum for the hood, trunk lid, door skins, rocker panels, and floorboards.

The Mercedes-Benz 300SL stands as one in all most memorable coupes of the fifties. The gullwing doorways not solely distinguished it, however they’re a intelligent answer to cover the vehicles distinctive house body chassis. It’s additionally probably the most recognizable Mercedes and each significantly assortment often has one.

The Gullwing Coupe, also called the W194, was the primary true sports-car to be developed by Daimler-Benz after the warfare. It was launched in 1952 as a light-weight race automotive to compete in Mille Milia. In September 1953 the road-going improvement of 300SL started. It was introduced in February of 1954 on the Worldwide Motor Sports activities Present in New York, based mostly on the racing-car of the 1952 season.

The automotive utilized an inline-6 from the 300S saloon, with that mannequin’s transmission & suspension setups. In contrast to the 300S, the engine was positioned at an angle to yield a low entrance nostril. To assist with engine compartment cooling, two giant shops had been added to maintain the air flowing outwards.

Produced throughout a three-year manufacturing run, this 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL was accomplished on June 16, 1955, and left the manufacturing unit on June 29, 1955, for supply within the US by way of New York. That is one in all 44 coupes completed in Ivory (DB608) in 1955 and was refinished in its present silver shade earlier than the mid-Nineteen Sixties. The outside options entrance and rear bumper guards, a driver-side Talbot mirror, pivot-out door handles, wheel-arch “eyebrows” with out welting, and fender louvers with twin horizontal aluminum spears.

The blue leather-based (333) cabin is as specified on the manufacturing unit construct sheet, with color-matched loop carpeting protecting the middle tunnel and rear shelf and a cream headliner that meets the leather-based trim on the prime of the A and B pillars. Options embody latch-and-link lap belts, black rubber flooring mats, an aftermarket shifter and boot, a dash-mounted rearview mirror, and a Becker Mexico radio.

The three.0-liter M198 inline-six engine, with mechanical direct Bosch gasoline injection, produces a factory-rated 215 horsepower at 5,800 rpm. The engine additionally options dry-sump lubrication, an aluminum cylinder head mated to an angled block floor, a single overhead camshaft, and sodium-filled exhaust valves. The facility is transmitted to the rear wheels by way of a substitute four-speed handbook transmission. The automotive has coated roughly 79k miles, and the odometer exhibits 5 digits.

Seeing a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing available on the market is a uncommon incidence, which is why it is best to by no means let this one go! As of this writing, the present bid stands at $1,350,000 on Bring A Trailer.