Stunning to look at, beautifully built and terrific to drive, the Mercedes-Benz ‘R107’ SL is one of the brand’s most stunning and timeless cars, from an era when the brand’s cars were massively over-engineered and restrained in their elegance.
R107s have survived in big numbers, as elegant now as they were when new. This one holds a lot of appeal, partly because it’s the cheapest SL to run and partly because it’s an extremely rare manual transmission model – less than 10 per cent of R107s sold came with three pedals!
The vendor bought the SL in 1994, when it was just 11 years old and had covered less than 35,000 miles. Initially, she used it as her everyday car for approx 3 years and then it was retired from daily service and kept for classic car shows and touring holidays, for which she and her husband have used it ever since.
It’s a very reluctant sale of a car that has taken them all across Europe and delivered some amazing memories, but with advancing years they no longer use it as they used to and want the car to go to a good home.
It has an impressive history file containing a comprehensive collection of bills and invoices from their ownership and also a few from before they bought it, plus the original vehicle inspection they had carried out on the car when they bought it. It has had no expense spared and any work required has been done as and when needed, including a full service just a few miles ago ready for the sale.
Most of the servicing has been carried out by an independent Mercedes-Benz specialist who used to work for the brand’s main dealership in Nottingham.
Finished in rare Lapis Blue, which was only offered on the R107 between 1981 and 1983, the SL is handsome machine and sits on smart “Mexican Hat’ alloy wheels.
It’s in great order overall, with no signs of any visible corrosion nor are there any dents or damage to the bodywork, There are a few surface scratches which a new owner may wish to remedy at a later date.
The steel hardtop is in superb condition with none of the rust often seen around the lower edge or rear screen surround – a huge selling point – The hood itself was replaced in 2001 and has barely been used as the car was only used in fine weather.
From what we could see, the underside of the car is also remarkably solid and in tidy order. It has previously had some welding and paintwork to the lower body, but this was carried out to an exceptional standard by a renowned coachbuilding company, as evidenced by the invoices.
The vendor reports that there is a fault with the Heater Motor speed resistor unit which may need to be replaced. The vendor has made enquiries regarding this and apparently a replacement refurbished unit is available from the SL shop for £200 + vat. DSHw7QCLaOPjyLXnV3qxbGKu17k57dl5ckIWUMnd.jpeg1.85 MB
THE MECHANICS
2.8-litre straight-six
Five-speed manual transmission
Recent full service
Well-maintained
It may be the baby of the R107 SL range, but the 2.8-litre six is also one of the smoothest and most reliable engines of its era.
This one has just had a full service and it runs beautifully. The five-speed manual transmission is highly unusual for an SL but the owner says that it really suits the car, with good low-down acceleration and a very tall fifth gear for cruising. UNnz9rZimEboxE7caLNHd7W8Z8Sl2Q0MmakxQ7WV.jpeg1.55 MB
SUMMARY
This is a lovely example of a six-cylinder R107 and will not only be cheaper to run than a larger-engine automatic model but is also extremely unusual. The owners report that it regularly achieves over 35mpg on a run – there aren’t many classic touring cars that can achieve that level of frugality.
It’s also in lovely condition, having been pampered for all of its life.
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