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Mercedes 300 SL

Mileage: 1972 Top Speed: 123 Year: 1989 0 - 60: 9.4 MOT Expiry: 12 Months BHP: 185 Tax Expiry: Expired Transmission: 4 Speed Automatic Exterior Colour: Signal Red Engine Capacity: 2962cc Interior Colour: Cream M-Tex Engine Configuration: Inline 6

Mercedes 300 SL | £POA

Mileage: 1972

Model History

The R107 was produced from 1972 in two variants the SL and SLC. The SL being a 2 seater convertible roadster with a soft top/removable hard top and the SLC being a 2 door coupe.

Being one of the second longest chassis series that Mercedes have produced there are plenty of engine choices and variants to choose, from the early 2.8 and 3.0 litre straight six engines, to the huge 5.6 litre V8's of the late 1980's.

The real benefit for the model was the comprehensive updates that were carried out and fitted to post 1985 cars to bring them up to the then current modern standards. These included a KE Jetronic system which gave the cars a more sophisticated modern engine management system. This helped to control the idle and air/fuel rate more efficiently. Reworked suspension and anti roll bars resulted in a more controlled ride, large 4 pot front brake calipers increased the cars braking ability, a limited differential was added and quite a few front end parts were borrowed from the newly introduced W124 series. The front and rear bumpers were updated along with a hefty amount of body sheet metal changes then finished with the new door handles from the W126 series and a set of light alloy wheels similar to the W201 chassis.

After 18 years of production of the R107 the final car, a 500SL was built on August 4th 1989 and finished in Astral Silver. It currently resides in the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart, Germany.

Equipment

Electric windows, Outside temperature indicator, Limited-slip differential, Orthopaedic front seat backrest, Cruise control, Under-shields, Paint-coat preservation, Rear seats, Hard top with heated rear window, Tinted strip on windscreen, Headlight wiper unit 

Exterior

If you ever fancied buying one of these cars new from Mercedes back in the 1980's then here is a once in a life time opportunity to buy one, albeit not from MB! This 300SL is in exceptional 'as new' showroom condition.

 

The car was kept unregistered for the first 13 years of its life and has still only covered 1,972 miles.

 

This 300SL has been owned and cherished by a collector and has been kept in dehumidified storage from new so has never been subjected to periods of direct sunlight, damp or moisture so has remained in truly perfect condition.

Interior

Opening the door is like jumping back in time. That new car smell is present and that feeling of quality, precise German engineering is abundant. It's so good that the only evidence to suggest the car has turned a wheel is the odometer reading 1,972 miles.

Engine & Transmission

Opening the bonnet reveals what appears to be a brand new engine, the factory applied grease is still in evidence as are the dabs of paint applied by the production line quality control inspectors to verify the bolts have been correctly tightened.

Despite the minimal use the car has been serviced in the appropriate time frames to ensure that the engine and gearbox have been correctly maintained and fluids replaced as they age. As you would expect the car starts on the button and idles as smoothly as the day it rolled off the production line. 

Wheels, Tyres & Brakes

The alloys are all in perfect condition and shod in the original Michelin tyres. These tyres are obviously quite old but have spent most of their time off the floor and out of the sunlight as the car has been stored inside and on blocks so there is no evidence of any perishing or flat spots. The brakes are also un-touched from the factory and show no signs of use. 

History File

The cars build date is believed to be the 26th of May 1989 and it had its pre-delivery inspection done in July of that year. It was then purchased from Mercedes by a Mr D Livermore who kept the car as part of his collection, he took his investment very seriously so never registered the car and kept it stored in a dehumidified storage unit on blocks.

 

In 2002 the car was registered for road use and then subsequently purchased by a Mr P Unitt with 250 miles on the clock. He was a keen member of the Mercedes owners club so jumped at the chance of a factory fresh SL. In his ownership the car did the majority of its mileage and received a lot of press coverage that included an article in the Mercedes Enthusiast magazine and a piece in the Telegraph in 2004. He also won the John Woodruff R107 concours trophy in 2005. The car had a full service in February 2005 by a well known Mercedes Specialist.

 

The next owner was a Mr Keates who bought the car with 1917 miles. He was again a keen collector and only added a handful of miles in his ownership, he also had the car serviced again by 'Classic Benz' in September 2009

 

Since the end of 2009 the car has been in the ownership of a very discerning private trust of collectors. They have a true passion for fine cars that are all bought under the strictest criteria, the result being a fantastic collection of 100% original cars that are in truly immaculate condition with excellent provenance. Despite only adding a further few miles they again have had the car fully serviced by Mercedes in Epsom in April 2010 at 1,938 miles and they had the brake fluid changed in July 2011 at 1,948 miles

 

All the original paperwork and owners manuals are still with the car and all the service work is stamped in the book with invoices detailing the work carried out.