CMC Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, W198, Roadster open

The 300 SL Roadster was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1957 as the successor to the Gullwing, which had already been presented in 1954, and was literally demanded by the importer in America at the time, Maximilian Hoffmann.

Externally, the car differed from the coupé by having different headlights at the front and, of course, the fabric roof.

However, the tubular frame had to be fundamentally redesigned to allow easy access even when the roof was closed and to provide the car with doors hinged conventionally on the A-pillar. The now ‘normal’ entrance also meant that the coupé’s folding steering wheel was no longer required.

The chassis was also improved and was fitted with a single-joint swing axle, which provided much greater driving stability than the sometimes treacherous double-joint swing axle of the coupé.

From 1961, the Roadster was also the first Mercedes passenger car to be fitted with disc brakes all round.

215 hp from the three-litre six-cylinder engine with direct injection and a top speed of 250 km/h were a real statement at the time and were enough to go down in history as one of the most powerful super sports cars of its time.

Between 1957 and 1963, 1,858 examples of the open-top and extremely elegant, elongated 300 SL were built, which incidentally laid the foundations for the SL legend that endures to this day.

• Six-cylinder in-line engine tilted 45° to the right
• Bosch 6-piston injection pump/direct injection
• Overhead camshaft