In February 1954 the production version of Mercedes’ 1952 300SL gullwing-door racing car was introduced at the New York International Motor Sports Show. This was the first time the company introduced a new model in the United States before introducing it in Germany.
Max Hoffman, New York City Importer of several makes of foreign cars including
Mercedes-Benz cars, is credited with getting Mercedes to produce this coupe; he ordered 1,000 road-going versions of the racing car before It even went into production! The standard Guliwing had a steel body with aluminum hood, trunk lid, rocker panels, firewall, belly pan, seat tub and doors; 29 all-aluminum Guliwings were built as special order lightweights.
The drive train and suspension were essentially the same as on
Mercedes-Benz 300 Series sedans and coupes, but the Guliwing had a multi-tube space frame chassis with a 94.5-inch wheelbase. The top speed was in excess of 130 mph and gave the 300SL Guliwing bragging rights as being the fastest production car in the world.
1,400 300SL Gullwings were produced between 1954 and 1957; 867 were built in 1955 alone. This car has the optional luggage that was designed specifically to fit snugly into the very limited, oddly-shaped space behind the two passenger seats.
Engine
6 cylinder, overhead-cam
3.35” bore. 3.46” stroke
182.8 cubic inch
240 hp. @ 6100 rpm.
Price when new: $7,463.00
Body/Coachbuilder
Daimler-Benz AG
Werk Sindelfingen, Germany
Manufacturer
Daimler-Benz AG
Stuttgart. Germany
March 1, 2010, 6:11 am
The most viewed articles in current category:
