• UK-supplied with an automatic gearbox and registered on the 21/07/1969 to the first of four former keepers 
• Bought by our vendor on 14/07/1986 at 14,600 miles for £6,700, according to the accompanying Bill of Sale
• The car was sent to the then famed Dingles Mercedes-Benz classic car workshop in North Wales for a full restoration
• The detailed history file notes extensive OEM receipts, labour and trimming costs for the white leather interior at over £20,000 at 1987 prices!
• An engine failure led to the dispatch by Mercedes-Benz Stuttgart of the believed last new and unused 2.8-litre engine in stock
• Finished in Signal Red with white leather interior, black canvas hood, red hardtop and period 1980s Alpine stereo 
• With work commitments abroad, our vendor has used the car sparingly, covering some 10,000 miles since 1986
• Presented to auction with a detailed history file, including historical MOTs, the older restoration is in very fine order and the engine is barely run-in!

The Mercedes-Benz 280SL 'Pagoda' was introduced in December 1967 and continued in production through until February 1971. The W113 was then replaced by its successor, the entirely new and substantially heavier R107 350SL. Over the years, the W113 quietly evolved from a nimble 'sports car' into a comfortable 'grand tourer' and was usually equipped with four-speed automatic transmission and air conditioning. The final evolution of the Pagoda was the 280SL, launched in November 1967 with a host of technical improvements, and is now seen as the most refined iteration of the W113 Series with the robust new seven-bearing, 2778cc, M130 engine developing 170bhp and perfectly suiting the automatic transmission.

This smart example was UK-supplied with an automatic gearbox and registered on the 21st July 1969 to the first of four former keepers. It was purchased by our vendor, from the fourth owner on the 14th July 1986 for, the not inconsiderable, sum of £6,700. The accompanying MOT Certificate, dated the same day, shows the mileage at 14,573 miles. Online records lead us to believe that the car was registered as “560 DP” from new and our vendor has generously included the registration number in the sale, appreciating the historical connection with the car and regardless of the value of the number plate today.
 
In 1986, and as a young man of just twenty-three years old, our vendor had repaired and sold a number of motorbikes and an MG to pay the £6,700 for the Pagoda and was starting on a career which took him overseas. During a visit home in the late Eighties, a con-rod threw itself through the side of the Pagoda’s engine. This devasting misadventure would’ve led many young men to get rid of the car, however, our vendor loved his 'Pagoda' so much that he decided to commission a programme of restoration works and sought from Mercedes-Benz a replacement engine, which he informs us was the last 2.8-litre "new and unused" engine from the Stuttgart factory.
 
The car was sent to the, then famed, Dingles Mercedes-Benz classic car workshop in North Wales for a full restoration. The detailed history file notes extensive OEM receipts, labour and trimming costs for the white leather interior of over £20,000 at 1987 prices! The car remains today in very good order with some 10,000 miles covered since the restoration, and therefore one of the few Pagodas with an engine that has barely been run in. We note the fitment of a 1980s Alpine radio in the dashboard and perhaps we can allow this minor transgression to pass based on our vendor’s then age at the completion of the restoration thirty-five years ago.