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| Mercedes-Benz 300SL 'Gullwing' 1955 |
Instantly recognizable not only by automobile buffs, but virtually anyone on the planet, the immortal 300SL (for Sports Leicht) Gullwing coupé arguably competes for the title of 'Greatest Ever Sports Car' and surely qualifies for anyone's Top 10 list of the greatest motorcars of all time and it ranks today among the most valued and collectable sports cars ever produced.
The most striking aspect of the Gullwing, at first glance anyway, is its appearance. The smooth flowing lines are difficult to fault and are timeless to the point that the cars are continually confused by the lay person with a far newer model. The doors, of course, are the outstanding feature, and with both of them open, the appellation 'Gullwing' becomes obvious. The shape is both elegant and functional. The few fittings are constructed in typical Daimler-Benz fashion, both in design and execution. The bumps in the hood, the belt mouldings of anodized aluminium (along with the majority of the trim mouldings), the upward opening doors - they are all there for a reason, be it to clear the engine, cover a seam in the body panels or provide access to a complicated chassis. In modern terminology, the Gullwing is a fully integrated design, a claim that few cars could make at the time. Though the 300SLs were built on a production line in Sindelfingen,
assembly was carried out almost entirely by hand with the only automated system being used to lower the steel body onto the tube frame chassis during final assembly.
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| Mercedes-Benz 300SL 'Gullwing' 1955 |
The Gullwing Coupé was in production for a surprisingly short three years, during which only 1,400 examples were built. In 1957, the Coupé was replaced by the Roadster version with improved rear suspension, lower and narrower side sections and a remounted spare wheel that offered an actual trunk with luggage space. Not only did the styling put Mercedes-Benz in a class by itself, the engine was unlike anything in other production cars, even those of a sporting nature. To accommodate the low, sleek lines, the engine was canted at a 45⁰ angle to the left.
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| Mercedes-Benz 300SL 'Gullwing' 1955 |
To make the engine as low as possible in the car, the production car used a 'dry-sump' oiling system with oil pumped from a separate tank rather than being held in a sump beneath the engine.
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