The Mercedes-Benz SL may have started off as a race-derived ‘Sport-Leicht’ coupé and roadster, but for most of its decades-long life it has been more ‘Sport-Luxe’ and combined flagship performance with a showcase of Mercedes’ latest advances in high technology. 

The R129 of the 1990s (and a couple of years either side) is a prime example of this, with its pioneering pop-up rollbar and its seats with 20 patents to their design including built-in seatbelt reels and magnesium structure. The R129 SL is also the design that long-time Mercedes design boss Bruno Sacco considers the closest to perfection of all the ones he oversaw. 

Certainly, it strikes a superb proportional balance between solid and lithe that has let it age oh-so gracefully – a useful trait even when it was new, given that this SL generation stayed in production for 12 years with only minor tweaks and a few engine updates.

The 1997-registered example you see here is an early series-two SL320 with a 230-horsepower straight-six turning an automatic transmission. It features several desirable factory options, most obviously the removable hardtop with a panoramic glass roof and cosy flip-up rear seats. 

As is fitting for a model that spent so long in the Mercedes range, this car has had just the two owners loyally keeping it alive, the current one since November 2002. Having spent most of the past 15 years stored indoors, the sheet metal has aged as well as its looks have.

The original black leather predominantly remains in fine shape, albeit with bolster wear on the driver’s seat and some superficial wrinkle marks outwards from there. The dashboard remains taut with no tears or discolouration, while the rear seats look similarly unblemished as well. 

The steering wheel is a combination of leather and wood-trimmed rim, with the leather having smoothed-down but is not otherwise deformed or damaged. Less fortunately, the leather trim at the top of the passenger door has pulled away slightly from the door itself, but only by a couple of centimetres along the rear half of its length. 

This is most likely a consequence of the period of time that the car spent sat outside – and then in an open-front barn – many years ago. The only other such instance of this is the speaker grille on the driver’s door slowly freeing itself (see photo gallery). All the interior electronics nevertheless work as expected, including an aftermarket Alpine audio system with a combined MP3 module and CD changer in the passenger-side boot cubby.

The bodywork remains straight and true, but this car spent some time sat outside and this has had consequences for the metallic silver paintwork. There is an obvious patch of bubbling on the bonnet, along with a loss of gloss around various areas of the rear bumper. 

There is also a short scratch mark above the fuel cap. The paintwork on the five-spoke alloy wheels would also benefit from TLC as there are multiple small areas of bubbling or other paint loss on each of them – not disastrously so, but enough to notice up close. 

The hardtop has only one impact mark a centimetre-or-so long, on the painted section above the driver’s door, but is otherwise in very good condition.

Ultimately, it would take a paint restoration and having the wheels reconditioned and suddenly this would look ten years younger. The fundamentals are all still very good; it’s just the scars of sun damage that hold this car’s exterior presentation back. The fabric convertible roof looks as if it has been scarcely used in recent years, still a deep black and without any wear or tear to be found.

The included maintenance invoices detail services and minor parts replacements for brakes and the like dating back around 20 years. One noteworthy invoice from March 2008 states that the car needed a new MAF, new brakes, new tyres and a full oil-and-filter engine service among the required jobs to breathe new life into the car. Six months earlier, the windscreen wiper system was replaced. 

The convertible roof mechanism was serviced in May 2015 as part of resolving several error codes, per the invoice’s comments. In August 2021 the driver’s door was reported not to close and was treated with lubricant and a new locking motor. In October 2022 the fuel system received a new pump and filter, whilst the handbrake system was all replaced at the same time. The car started up when asked, without smoke, throughout photoshoot day and the seller tells us it drives very well.

This SL320 is some non-invasive TLC away from being a prime example of the R129. Reconditioned paint and a couple of repairs within the door cards is what it would take to make this car look and feel like the low-mile car it is. 

At that point, you will have a modern-classic luxury roadster for all seasons (thanks to that hardtop) ferrying you around through its turbine-smooth straight-six – not as thumping as the V8s or V12s of upper-level SLs, but not as heavy, thirsty or costly to run either and with no less kit inside. 

It could be a collector’s daily driver to make mundane errands feel special without wheeling out a capricious exotic, or for someone more down-to-earth it could be kept for special occasions to preserve its relatively low mileage and still offer the chance to arrive in timeless style to any sort of venue you can imagine.

 

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