If you want an early purist-spec Pagoda, it’s going to be a 230 SL. Three model variants were offered over the W113’s lifespan: the launch-spec 230 SL endured from 1963-67, the 250 SL ran from ’66-68, and the 280 SL from 1967 to the end of the line in ’71.

With a genesis-spec 230, you’re getting a 150bhp 2.3-litre straight-six – a manual gearbox was available, but you’re far more likely to find an automatic, as we have here, and this suits its cruiser character very well.

Roof options were threefold – you could spec a W113 with only a soft-top, only a hard-top (a very rare choice, that one), or most desirably of all, with both. That’s what we have here – the original Pagoda; simple, elegant, sublime.
 
This is a particularly desirable one too, not least for that rare and striking shade of blue. Extensively restored by marque specialist Silchester Garage in the mid-2000s, the quality of the rejuvenation was so impressive that the car appeared on the cover of Classic & Sports Car magazine in 2009 (a copy of which comes with the car). 

The previous seller owned it since not long after that, he saw it on the cover of the magazine and thought it would make a great present for his wife’s 40th birthday – and he was right, the couple were so enamoured with it that they kept it for fourteen years… although, keen to keep the car pristine, they only covered around 2,000 miles in all that time, taking the car to local shows along with an annual trip from Buckinghamshire down to Goodwood. 

Throughout this ownership it’s been carefully maintained by Roger Edwards of Amersham, and today it presents as a beautifully complete and attractive car that’s simply wonderful to drive. It’s been enjoying a very pampered existence – but if the fancy took you, you really could use it every day. 

 

You can see from the photos just how splendid the interior of this SL is. The mid-2000s restoration has weathered well thanks to the car’s minimal usage – the seats are extremely tidy, as are the carpets and doorcards. 

This is a sought-after right-hand-drive example, equipped with factory power-steering. The dash is in good order with no cracking or weathering to the wooden top; all of the correct switchgear is in place and the dials are working correctly. 

A Becker Mexico radio is fitted (supposedly having cost c.£3,000) which has a tasteful digital display able to provide sat-nav readouts. It’s all solid and remarkably clean inside the boot, with the spare wheel in place along with a pot of the correct paint for touch-ups. 

Resplendent in a rare and desirable shade of blue seldom seen on Pagodas, this really is a beautifully presented car outside too. The paintwork is highly impressive, and we were unable to pinpoint any scuffs, scratches, dents or dings – it’s a car that’s been expensively restored and then carefully looked after. 

Both the hard-top and soft-top are present; the former appears corrosion-free and has a tidy headlining, and the latter is equally tidy and raises and lowers freely, latching and stowing correctly. SL aficionados will also be pleased to note that both roofs have integrated securing handles, so there’s no messing about with the fiddly separate tools. 

All of the correct exterior trim and badging is in place, with the chrome in tidy condition with no corrosion or pitting. The light lenses are in good order, as is the window glass. The wheels are all correctly colour-coded, and have undented hubcaps (with just a little paint peeling from the centre of one of them) and good tyres. It looks to be pleasingly straight and solid underneath too. This really is an impressive example. 

 

Quite simply, this SL drives like a dream. The engine has seen relatively few miles for its age and has always been properly serviced; today it fires on the first turn of the key, idles happily and pulls strongly. 

The characteristically smooth gearbox is a perfect companion to the torquey motor, shifting effortlessly as it should. The brakes and suspension are in fine fettle, with the car riding comfortably and pulling itself up straight, and the power-steering is working well. 

All the factory-fit oily bits are functioning as they should, and this Pagoda is fabulous to drive – one of the very best we’ve experienced recently.  

 

What a truly lovely Mercedes-Benz this is! It’s fair to say that pretty much any Pagoda is a pretty Pagoda, but this one has a lot of important and desirable things going for it that mark it out from its peers: first of all, there’s the fact that it’s honest – a right-hand-drive car with only two owners as recorded on the V5, 35,747 Miles recorded on the odometer, and a quality resto. 

Secondly, there’s that colour; among the more usual silver or white Pagodas, this glorious shade of blue really does stand out. Thirdly, there’s the way it drives – smooth, dependable, enjoyable, just as you’d hope it to be. And fourthly – well, just look at it. 

Magnificently attractive, isn’t it? We could stare at it all day… and it’s just as good to drive as it is to behold. If you’re in the market for a Pagoda SL, we’d strongly suggest you don’t let this one get away…