Description
H&H Classic Auction @Pavilion Gardens | Buxton, Derbyshire
24th of April, 2024 13:00
1984 Mercedes-Benz 280SL
Single family ownership from new
Estimate
£15, 000 - £20, 000
Registration No: A861 VUU
Chassis No: WDB1070422A003521
MOT: T. B. A
- Supplied new via Mercedes-Benz of Nicosia (Cyprus) and imported to the UK by its first owner two years later
- Eighteen main dealer and specialist service stamps
- Resident in London for much of its life and kept garaged
- Comes with hardtop, (barely used) soft-top and optional rear seats etc
Nicknamed the 'Panzerwagen' by Mercedes-Benz's own development engineers, the R107 series was the result of an extremely thorough design process. In an attempt to avoid falling foul of threatened American safety legislation, Stuttgart produced an open car whose structural rigidity surpassed that of some contemporary saloons! Indeed, even now some fifty years after its introduction the R107 retains a reassuring air of solidity. Allied to this was sure-footed handling courtesy of all-round independent coil-sprung suspension, power-assisted steering and disc brakes. Always more of a grand tourer than an out and out sports car, the vast majority of R107s were fitted with automatic transmission. Launched in September 1974, the Eurocentric 280SL was less powerful but more fuel-efficient than its V8 brethren. Though with some 185bhp and 177lbft of torque on tap from its fuel-injected 2746cc DOHC straight-six engine, the model could still boast authoritative 120mph performance.
A distinct rarity in that it has only ever been registered to two members of the same family (father and son), chassis WDB1070422A009521 was factory finished in the attractive combination of Blue-Green Metallic with Dark Blue upholstery and a Dark Brown soft-top. Nicely specified, the 280SL boasts a Behr air-conditioner, 15-inch alloy wheels, optional rear seats and electric windows / mirrors. Supplied new by Mercedes-Benz of Nicosia, Cyprus, they carried out the first of eighteen services recorded in the accompanying maintenance booklet. Imported to the UK during 1986, the 280SL has always been kept garaged to the benefit of its bodywork (the wheelarches etc are notably sound). Warranted to have covered a modest 109, 000 miles (the equivalent of 2, 725 per annum), ‘A861 VUU’ has recently been recommissioned following a period of dry storage and is expected to possess a fresh MOT certificate by the time of sale. Due to be driven to Buxton, this appealing and well preserved 280SL is offered for sale with V5C Registration Document, owner’s manual, service book and assorted MOTs dating back to 1988 at 30, 591 miles.
