VINTAGE: Mercedes 300SL Marks 60 Years

This year, Mercedes-Benz celebrates the 60th anniversary of the 300SL, the history of the manufacturer’s most iconic model starting in 1952 with the 300SL Competition Coupe.

Loosely based on a production drivetrain, the car featured a bespoke space-frame chassis and aluminum body. Because of the height of the chassis, conventional doors could not be fitted and the car instead featured the now legendary "gullwing" doors. Despite its production roots, the 300SL proved very successful on the track, taking victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Carrera Panamericana.

For the anniversary celebrations, Mercedes-Benz Classic has restored the oldest existing 300SL, the second prototype built. It is unusual because of its original door configuration, which ended at the waistline.

Playing our part in the 300SL’s anniversary, we have gone through our archive to compile a of the original W194. Four different chassis are pictured, including the recently restored prototype and the Le Mans winner. The cars are pictured at some of the world’s most prominent events, such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Monaco Historic Grand Prix, Retromobile and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Mercedes-Benz dominated Grand Prix racing in the second half of the 1930s, bolstered by a seemingly unlimited budget. A few years later, there was little left of the company other than a pile of rubble. In record time, the factory was rebuilt and the racecar designers set about development of a new competition model.

By 1950, the German company was in well-enough shape again to consider racing. Two of the 1930s Grand Prix cars were refurbished and entered in a number of Formula Libre races, but with little success. In the summer of 1951, the green light was given for the development of a new racing car, be it on a tight budget.

For various reasons, Grand Prix racing was not an option. Mercedes-Benz instead used some parts of the production cars to build a sports racer. What was brand new: a ground-breaking tubular space-frame chassis that combined low weight with superior rigidity compared with the traditional ladder frame.

Suspension was equally advanced with double wishbones and coil springs at the front, and swing axles with coil springs at the rear. The Mercedes-Benz designers decided to break with convention by fitting a coupe body to reduce drag and improve top speed.

They had to overcome the unusual high sides of the space-frame chassis, which did not allow for normal doors. Instead they fitted doors recessed into the roof with hinges at the top, which were quickly referred to as "gullwing" doors.

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