![]() ![]() It spent the first 16 years of its life in the States, mostly in a nailed-shut garage to prevent it from being stolen. Our time in the Gullwing was far from the life the car had lived before us. It’s about opulence, refinement and sophistication, all coming together in one of the most head-turning packages to ever grace the roads. HYPEBEAST tested the 300SL in the British countryside, but we could have easily mistaken our stint in the car for a cruise around Saint-Tropez. Instead, the Gullwing wants you to glide through the corners, powering out of them onto straights with long stretches of torque pushing you to the limit slowly but surely. You’re not encouraged to thrash the four-speed gearbox, nor put the pedal to the floor. Despite it being the supercar of its heyday, it ushers a welcoming presence once behind the wheel. There’s a sense of ease with the Gullwing. All is soon forgotten when the Gullwing is gliding down the road in style and ease – as any Mercedes-Benz should, after all. No driver aids, no power steering, rudimentary drum brakes and its reputation for being a widowmaker do not help with the nerves. With the naturally-aspirated inline-six engine fired up, it’s time to set off. Opening the doors above your head, coordinating the awkward ingress of the deep door sills and stepping into a claustrophobic cabin, securing the steering wheel in place before turning the key and delicately pumping the gas as the car breathes into life is a ceremonial experience. Looking at images of the Gullwing is sure to whet the appetite of any car fanatic, but to behold the car in the flesh – face-to-face – brings so much anticipation and admiration to the surface. But Hilton & Moss – a U.K.-based car dealer and classic car restoration company – were keen to hand over the keys to its unrestored (to the point of preserved) 300SL, softening the blow of the car’s $2M USD price tag. You don’t want to speak badly of it, nor drive it with little care, making the Gullwing intimidating. It’s hard to come to terms with the Gullwing’s superiority. Test-driving one preserved example is a special occasion. ![]() It founded Mercedes-Benz’s SL lineage and paved the way for many other marques to create cars based on their racing models. Couple that with the dramatically aerodynamic body, 215 BHP and a 135 MPH top speed, the limited production run and those iconic Gullwing doors, and the supercar label feels justified. Priced at $11,000 USD – or $132,000 USD in today’s money – it was by all means among the benchmark of supercar dollars. Max Hoffman, Mercedes-Benz’s United States importer at the time, saw the appeal of taking Mercedes-Benz’s racer and turning it into a road car, and he wasn’t wrong. While Bugatti had made super-performance cars before, they weren’t born from the same kind of desire as the Gullwing. Just 1,400 examples were built between 19, becoming the first car to bear the SL (for “Super Light”) designation, and it was arguably the world’s first proper supercar. After that, the road-going 300SL Gullwing was born. The car’s origins can be traced back to race wins, which saw the Mercedes-Benz 300SL (W 194) of 1952 place second in the grueling 1,600-kilometre Mille Miglia race. You may have to select a menu option or click a button.Open Road has featured many supercars, but none have the pedigree of the Gullwing. Follow the instructions for disabling the ad blocker on the site you’re viewing.You may have more than one ad-blocker installed. You’ll usually find this icon in the upper right-hand corner of your screen. Click the icon of the ad-blocker extension installed on your browser.When it turns gray, click the refresh icon that has appeared next to it or click the button below to continue.Click on the large blue power icon at the top.Click the UBlock Origin icon in the browser extension area in the upper right-hand corner.It will turn gray and the text above will go from “ON” to “ OFF”. Click on the “ Ad-Blocking” button at the bottom.Click the Ghostery icon in the browser extension area in the upper right-hand corner. ![]()
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