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Mercedes-Benz 300 SL

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Mercedes-Benz300 SL

W198 Gullwing coupé

Power
215 PS
0–100
9.3 s
Top speed
235 km/h

Mercedes-Benz 300 SL 1955

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Photographs: Alexander Migl, CC BY-SA 4.0; Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Illustrative of the model.

Curator’s note

The racing-derived coupé whose upward-opening doors became an icon of 1950s design.

The 300 SL coupé brought Mercedes-Benz racing technology to the road. A light tubular spaceframe with high sills meant conventional doors would not work, so the doors were hinged in the roof and opened upwards.

  • Gullwing doors
  • Tubular spaceframe chassis
  • Bosch mechanical direct fuel injection
  • Engine canted to lower the bonnet line
0–100 km/h9.3s130th of 140 · best 1.8 s
Top speed235km/h102nd of 140 · best 420 km/h
Power212hp121st of 140 · best 1,888 hp
Torque275Nm128th of 140 · best 2,360 Nm
Race the 300 SL ⚑Launch it, you shiftSpin it in 3DPaint itIts parts in 3DIts engine in 3DRebuild its engine

The story

Mercedes-Benz 300 SL

The road car grew out of the W194 racing 300 SL, which won the 1952 Le Mans 24 Hours and Carrera Panamericana. US importer Max Hoffman pressed for a production version, and it was unveiled in New York in 1954.

Its straight-six was tilted over to fit under a low bonnet and used Bosch mechanical direct injection, giving more power than the carburetted racing engine.

Generation
W198 coupé, 1954 to 1957
Built in
Sindelfingen, Germany
Gearbox
4-speed manual
Kerb weight
1,295 kg

Character

Comfort 5 Pace 7 Off-road 1 Tech 9 Presence 10

Dimensions

4,520 mm long 2,400 mm wheelbase 1,300 mm Width 1,790 mm
01

It was the first four-stroke production car with direct petrol injection.

02

Mercedes-Benz built 1,400 coupés before the 300 SL Roadster took over in 1957.

03

Top speed varied with the rear-axle ratio; 235 km/h is for the standard ratio.

04

Power is the DIN figure; weight is kerb weight.

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3D model "Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing" by Lexyc16 (CC Attribution), via Sketchfab

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