In a world where motoring seems ever-more homogenous, the Pagoda is a tonic. There's a real subtlety to the design, a flourish that only a real artist could put together. Now get one together in desirable 280SL spec in an attractive Midnight Blue, and you may well have a car worthy of the Louvre.

A matching-numbers UK car, this SL comes with an impressive history file including documentation of a full engine rebuild using original Mercedes-Benz parts around 12,000 miles ago (at a cost of well over £12,000). 2018 saw the car receive some attention to the interior, with the leather tastefully reconnolised along with the boot floor being replaced, and in 2024 it's seen some seismic improvements to bring it up to the fabulous condition you see today. Most notably, it's had the entire floor replaced – the floor panels, inner and outer sills, rear chassis legs – and all correctly spot-welded and galvanised to ensure that it has a factory-style fit-and-finish as well as being usefully futureproofed.

Beautifully presented, shining like a pin and - we're told - reliably sound. This is a Pagoda that's ready and waiting for the road.

 

The Midnight Blue paint suits this Pagoda to the ground, picking out the Pagoda's subtle lines and curves in style, with handsome contrasting brightwork.  We note a small. unintrusive crack to one rear cluster, the light lenses are all good, as is the window glass (the door windows having previously been replaced with new-old-stock items). The car wears its correct set of 14" steel wheels with colour-coded hubcaps, fitted with matching whitewall tyres. The mohair soft-top is brand new, while the car also comes with its original factory hard-top, which has also been repainted and is in good order with a tidy headlining.

The works to the underside included cutting out and replacing the floor panels, inner and outer sills and rear chassis legs with genuine Mercedes-Benz panels, which has all been carried out to meticulous standards to give this SL a new lease of life and many, many more miles to enjoy.

Internally, the car's in equally fine order. The seats and doorcards have been tastefully reconnolised and all present very well, and the carpets are tidy on the floors and behind the seats.

The only deviation from standard specs is a modern retro-style digital radio. The lights behind the heater sliders all work (which is never a given with a Pagoda!), and the steering wheel is in clean condition. Inside the boot, it's all dry and tidy, and atop the spare wheel, we find a fully stocked tool roll.
 

This car has covered just 112,000 miles from new, all of which is backed up by the huge sheaf of previous MOTs, and we can see from the history file that at 99,000 miles it enjoyed a full engine rebuild at a cost of £12,691.

A divine car to drive, this impressively specced and beautifully finished Pagoda offers the full package – provenance, usability, solidity, quality... it ticks a lot of boxes, is a genuine head-turner, and as the vendor tells us, provides endless joy with every journey.

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