Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing & Roadster; 3 litre 6 Cylinder

Since the motor car began, Mercedes Benz via Daimler and Benz have always been known for the quality of their product. No question. On a number of occasions throughout their life, they have also produced some outstandingly fast sports and racing cars. Witness the pre Second War 500s and the Grand Prix cars. Postwar, however, the company recovered with a series of excellent but hardly sporting production cars. Stodgy might have been a suitable adjective. But as usual they knew what they were doing. Experimentation on the race track in 1952, '53 and '54 (actually great success) told the world something was afoot. No one quite expected the 300SL. Here was a genuine production sports coupe with a space frame chassis, gull-wing doors, fuel injection straight six engine and glorious looks of a timeless style, much of it taken directly from the sports-racing cars, and considerable speed to boot. Compared to its showroom floor competition, it was a winner instantly. Jaguar, Aston Martin and Ferrari fell to this sleek, Autobahn cruiser. 1954 and the years to come were stunned. Sales were endorsed as the might of Mercedes continued to conquer the race tracks in 1955. America and the rest of the `New World' fell to its charms. A Roadster was added to the line and a good thing came to an end in 1963. Mercedes could then look forward to unprecedented sales for the next 20 years. William ‘Bill’ Boddy tells the full development story of these 'dream' cars, looks at its racing exploits and adds his unique overview as an active journalist during its lifespan. He recalls what he thought at the time and then re-analyses those feelings with the passage of time. Just how good were those much-loved silver rockets?