Coys Auction - Spring Classics
Royal Horticultural Halls
Elverton St
Westminster
London SW1
Tuesday 8 March 2011
Estimate: £4,000 - £6,000
Registration Number: N/A
Chassis Number: N/A
Launched at the New York Motorshow in 1954, the 300 SL Mercedes looked somewhat more civilised than its racing counterpart, but retained the trademark Gullwing doors, surely one of the most distinctive coachwork features of all time. The doors did have a downside however, in the shape of very poor cockpit ventilation (there were no sliding windows in the doors) which made it uncomfortable for long drives in hot climates. Nevertheless 1400 examples rolled off the production between 1954 and 1957, which was quite an exceptional run for an extremely expensive sports car.
The American market was crucial to Mercedes so the obvious development was an open version of the 300 SL. By further strengthening the lower half of the space frame chassis, the high sills could be abandoned. This increased the weight somewh