Classic Mercedes Benz Heritage - W198 300sl Gullwing & Roadster

In contrast to a 190sl this was a roadster straight from the race track. The Mercedes Benz 300sl introduced in February 1954 along side the 190sl prototype was heavily based on the W194 race cars of the same name from 1952. Like the racing car, the mass-produced 300sl features a six-cylinder engine, a lightweight tublar space frame and charicteristic gullwing doors (required due to the frame design and later modified on the roadsters). The M198 engine has a direct petrol injection (the first of its kind in a mass production Mercedes) four stroke engine. Boasting exceptional performance and design, the 300sl soon becomes an icon of motoring culture.

Daimler - Benz advertised the 300sl Gullwings as "the best performing production model ever to be offered to the public". Rob Walker, the well known English race sponser / manager, was more emphatic: "I think it must be the greatest orad car that was ever built." Logic tells us that an automobile of this historic magnitude must have been the result of careful planning.

• Chassis type W198 chromoly tublar space frame
• Engine type: 6 cyl over head camshaft (M198)
• Capacity: 2996 cc
• Power output: 215 hp (158 kW) at engine speed of 5,800 rpm
• Top speed: 250 km/h
• Production period: Gullwing 1954 - 1957 | Roadster 1957 - 1963
• Units produced: Gullwing - 1,400 | Roadster - 1,858