Universally recognized as a design and engineering masterpiece, the Mercedes- Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupe firmly ranks among the finest postwar European sports cars. Based upon the W194 competition coupes which convincingly returned Mercedes-Benz to racing and utterly dominated the 1952 international racing season, the model was refined for production at the insistence of New York-based importer Max Hoffman.

The 1954 New York debut of the 300 SL made history as the first Mercedes-Benz model launched outside of Germany. The “SL” designation translates to English as “Sports Lightweight,” and the vehicle’s race-derived engineering features include an extremely light and strong tubular frame, all-independent suspension, and 3.0-liter straight-six engine with competition-type dry sump lubrication. Its mechanical fuel injection was a world production-car first. Power, rated at 220 bhp, was delivered through a four-speed manual gearbox, rendering the sleekly styled 300 SL the fastest production car of its time, depending upon final-drive ratio, with a 3.64:1 ring and pinion standard. Production of the glamorous, hand-finished 300 SL continued into 1957, with just 1,400 built in total. The Gullwing offered here was completed in July 1955 and shipped to the US, finished in Silver Metallic (DB 180), and accented by a blue leather interior, before being delivered to its first owner.

Calvin “Hal” Cerniwey would soon become the most important figure in the history of chassis 5500454. Following his years as a flight engineer in the US Air Force, he joined the Flying Tiger Line air freight company in 1954 in the same capacity. In 1956, he became the Gullwing’s second owner when he bought the nearly new Mercedes- Benz from his local dealer for the not-insignificant sum of $11,000. Mr. Cerniwey enjoyed the single life and the comforts that his high-paying career afforded him, and soon became well known around Los Angeles with his stunning silver Gullwing. Over the ensuing decades, he had the 300 SL painted in a number of distinctive color combinations to suit his current desire, including white with wide, gold stripes running the length of the roof; later it was reportedly refinished again, in black with a white roof. Always quick with a story of his countless international adventures, he was a larger-than-life character who once flew a sizable herd of cattle from Idaho to Japan as one of his many responsibilities with the Flying Tigers organization.

In the 1980s, with his aviation days behind him, Hal Cerniwey fell ill and moved in with his nephew, Frank Cerniwey, in the Pacific Northwest. Frank, who idolized his uncle, first rode in the Gullwing in 1958 when he was just a year old. Throughout his youth, he developed his own affection for the sleek coupe, never thinking that it would one day become his own car.

Following Hal’s passing in 1985, Frank inherited the Gullwing, then showing some 75,000 miles. A master mechanic, Frank performed maintenance on his family heirloom, but drove it very little. In the 1990s, intending to use the Gullwing more frequently, he had a family friend who owned a restoration shop in Provo, Utah, repaint the Gullwing in the light blue metallic that it wears today, and had the interior retrimmed in a more practical blue vinyl. Frank last drove the car in the early 2000s and, as he reports, only in fair weather. The Gullwing’s rising value was a major factor in its retirement from the road, though he enjoyed its presence in his garage in the nearly quarter century that has elapsed since.

Purchased by the consignor in 2023 and offered publicly for the first time since its 1956 purchase, this 300 SL claims one of the longest terms of family ownership of any to emerge in recent years. Chassis 5500454 offers its next owner a rare opportunity to return an always-appreciated, though long-sequestered Gullwing to the road, where it is sure to be well received back into the convivial atmosphere that defines modern 300 SL ownership.

*Please note that this vehicle has been in long-term static storage and may not be currently operational. It will require mechanical attention prior to road use.