{"id":33758,"date":"2025-04-28T09:00:51","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T08:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/?p=33758"},"modified":"2025-05-01T22:14:58","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T21:14:58","slug":"1967-mercedes-benz-230sl-pagoda-w113-5spd-zf-manual","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1967-mercedes-benz-230sl-pagoda-w113-5spd-zf-manual\/","title":{"rendered":"1967 Mercedes-Benz 230SL Pagoda W113 5spd ZF manual"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Your starter for ten: What links Sophia Loren, John Lennon, Priscilla Presely, Peter Ustinov, and Stirling Moss?<\/p>\n<p>Answer: They all drove Pagodas.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/aa0e5481-2e4e-4a66-a63f-397d26f46994-800x533.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Oft-heralded as the most stylish car ever made, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mercedes-benz.com\/en\/innovation\/milestones\/mercedes-benz-classic-sl\/sl-pagoda\/\">W113 SL \u2018Pagoda\u2019<\/a> was the brainchild of Mercedes-Benz royalty Friedrich Geiger, road safety pioneer B\u00e9la Bar\u00e9nyi, and car stylist par excellence Paul Bracq. It was affectionately dubbed \u2018Pagoda\u2019 in reference to its uniquely concave removable hard-top, echoing the iconic form of the Buddhist temple. The end product was simply breathtaking; a masterclass in understated elegance that\u2019s arguably yet to be bettered. And behind those glamorous looks lay rock-solid engineering; a BOSCH multi-point fuel-injected SOHC straight-six renowned for its smoothness and reliability.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/755b6b22-a8e1-41ef-9a33-6d31a6219f4e-800x533.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Any Pagoda is a special thing, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/auctions\/1967-mercedes-benz-w113-230sl-5spd-4ojVpn\">here<\/a>\u2019s the rarest variant of all &#8211; one of fewer than twenty right-hand drive examples to be factory-fitted with a ZF five-speed manual gearbox. And of that elite few, only six cars are known to the W113\u2019s technical registry. Worldwide, sources indicate that just 882 customers ticked the box marked \u2018<em>F\u00fcnfgang<\/em>\u2019 on the order form, and most of those five-speed SLs found their way to Italy. Today, they\u2019re immensely desirable, so it\u2019s exciting to see this wonderful specimen is up for auction with Car &amp; Classic.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/50c5848a-f075-4eb8-9586-8e358a0e85ed-800x533.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The venerable ZF S5-20 found its way into a multitude of high-end cars of the day, including the Lamborghini 350 GT and a brace of \u201860s and \u201970s Maseratis. Five-speed gearboxes were a real rarity at the time and the German firm ZF were among the first to introduce a reliable unit. This gearbox utterly transforms the character of the SL, turning the docile Riviera cruiser into a true sports car. The higher echelons of the rev range are unchartered territory with the auto box; a real pity when you consider the 148 horsepower M127 engine hits peak power at fairly frenetic 5,500 rpm. Sure, the 230SL is still damped for comfort, the recirculating ball (often power-assisted) steering is not especially communicative and your\u2019re unlikely to win any races. But, simply having that extra cog at your disposal, and an all-round better transmission, really does make all the difference.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/app\/uploads\/2025\/04\/a6d1d584-66e2-4a83-b2b3-682614aedf80-800x533.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Rarity aside, this 1967 230SL is still one of the finest Pagodas to hit the market in recent years. When collectors are lucky enough to get hold of cars like this, they usually hang on to them. Indeed the previous keeper of this Merc cherished it for thirty years. During current ownership, the car has received a major service, new stainless steel exhaust, fresh paintwork, a new chrome grille and a new rear bumper. A year\u2019s advisory-free MOT confirms what a great example this is. Whether you\u2019re seasoned Pagoda collector or have always wished for a five-speed version of Mercedes\u2019s most celebrated convertible, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/auctions\/1967-mercedes-benz-w113-230sl-5spd-4ojVpn\">this<\/a> is the car you\u2019ve been waiting for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your starter for ten: What links Sophia Loren, John Lennon, Priscilla Presely, Peter Ustinov, and Stirling Moss? Answer: They all drove Pagodas. Oft-heralded as the most stylish car ever made,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":33761,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[3238],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.10 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>1967 Mercedes-Benz 230SL Pagoda W113 5spd ZF manual - Car &amp; Classic Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"All SLs are equal, but some are more equal than others\u2026 Car &amp; Classic Auctions brings you this ultra-rare 5spd ZF manual 230 SL Pagoda\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1967-mercedes-benz-230sl-pagoda-w113-5spd-zf-manual\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"1967 Mercedes-Benz 230SL Pagoda W113 5spd ZF manual - Car &amp; 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