You don’t have to be a motor enthusiast to be drawn in by this 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing. Developed at the suggestion of American Mercedes importer Max Hoffman, the 300SL Gullwing was inspired by Mercedes-Benz’s successful W194 sports racers. The 300SL is representative of a time where race cars could be mildly modified and set upon the street, featuring a lightweight tubular chassis and body panels composed of steel and aluminium. The gullwing (upward-opening) doors were a result of the tube frame requiring high stilts. Mercedes-Benz used a 3.0-litre M198 inline-six with Bosch mechanical fuel injection for the 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, which was canted to allow for a lower hood profile, and produced 215 brake horsepower.
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With its distinctive silhouette and upraised doors, this 1956 Merc is one of just 1400 Gullwing coupes built between 1954 and 1957. Finished in September of 1955, it was shipped to Graz, Austria, where it spent thirty years with the same owner. Fast forward to 2014, the car was acquired out of New York and restored to its former glory, achieving its original factory colour of graphite grey over light grey leather interiors (red and white plaid cushions are also available) and rebuilding the original 3.0L inline-six engine, which powers the rear wheels through a four-speed manual transmission.
Words by AR Staff
