Sometimes it takes a lot of hard work to make something look effortless. Produced from 1971-1989, the ‘R107’ generation of Mercedes SL was born in a time when convertibles were under threat in the crucial US market, as safety standards were being overhauled. To make sure the latest ‘Sport Licht’ was safe enough for Ralf Nader, the development team engineered the windscreen surround to be so strong that it could retain its shape in a rollover accident and protect the occupants even with the roof down. 

You wouldn’t know by looking; it’s such a simple, subtle solution to such a serious issue. The R107 was a much larger car than its predecessor, so to help mask the bulk the designers ribbed the lower section of each body panel to create ‘fast’ lines which, along with the wraparound swage line and chrome-edged rubbing strips, tempt your eye across the car’s length rather than up its height. 

They also blend aesthetically with the aerodynamic, ribbed indicators and taillight lenses that help keep all the lights visible when the car is dirty or covered in snow. Such simple devices, yet such effective results. It wasn’t just Mercedes’ engineers who were pleased with the results; over 237,000 R107 SLs were built across 18 years, with roughly two thirds of them going to the USA where convertibles were allowed to survive after all.

One consequence of all this added strength was weight gain – the R107 is over 200kg heavier than the W113 “Pagoda” SL it replaced – so to keep the performance levels attractive, they needed some serious engine options. The flagship 500SL of 1980-‘89 is powered by the ‘M117’ 5.0-litre V8 engine, a unit which later proved its worth at Le Mans via the Sauber Group C programme. 

In the SL it produced 240 horsepower and, more tellingly of its boulevard cruiser intentions, 297lb-ft of torque at just 3200rpm.

The 1986 example you see here is a complete, original survivor that beams undeniably strong retro vibes as its Signal Red paint catches your eye, and your attention. Despite the life it’s already lived, it wants for very little, if anything, before you can head out and make every added mile a smooth, rumbling, sonorous joy as you cruise along in timeless style.

Open the door and you are greeted by an interior that belies the car’s age and mileage. The front seat bolsters have some superficial wrinkles in them, but there are no tears or other serious blemishes to be found in the upholstery, whilst the cosy rear bench looks like it’s hardly been used at all (one neat touch if you ever do climb into the back; the front seat has a grab handle on the back so you can reset its position from the rear seat).

 Up front, the dashboard and centre console sport wood trim that is gently aged around the edges – particularly the upper dash panel – but otherwise does nothing to subtract from the air of class and quality shot through this cabin. The steering wheel’s rim is smoothed-down but, like the seats, not damaged. The headlining of both the fabric hood and the clip-on hardtop is taut and unblemished. All in all, this is a solid and soothing place to spend time, roof up or down.

The only point of note about interior functionality is that on the day of the photoshoot, the electric windows refused to wind down – the first time this issue has arisen, according to the seller. We are assured it is likely to be only a fuse or such like, and it will be investigated before sale’s end. 

The R107’s delicately balanced volumes and tidy, unfussy styling have allowed it to age with superb grace, simultaneously encapsulating its time and yet looking classy and stylish by today’s standards too. The Signal Red paintwork presents excellently all around, as do the black rubbers lining the body’s perimeter and the sporty-yet-restrained boot spoiler. 

The incredible amounts of chrome around the exterior are predominantly a match for the condition of everything else, bar some very light scratches on the driver’s side B-pillar of the hardtop and on the passenger-side inner windscreen surround. The 15-inch alloy wheels variously show minor bubbling around the bolt holes and centre emblem, but are otherwise in very good shape. Other than a cracked driver’s side fog light lens, there is very little else to say against the exterior presentation. Unlike you average ‘70s and ‘80s convertible, the retracted soft-top is completely hidden under a solid, colour-matched tonneau cover that clamps into place and looks at a glance like just another body panel.

This SL’s fabric hood rises and falls without resistance and, as per the R107’s design, is secured in place by a remarkably fastidious set of fixings, requiring the use of two tools kept in the glovebox which screw the front onto the windscreen frame as well as a lever at the rear to then pull the centre rear fixing downwards and create the final tension in the roof structure. It’s fair to say that this roof isn’t going anywhere once it’s up! The same mountings and mechanisms can instead be used to secure the exterior-coloured hardtop in place and create an upper structure nigh-on as strong as a coupé. 

Currently, this 500SL is in sufficiently fine fettle to breeze through its recent MOT test with no advisories and fire-up that 5.0-litre V8 multiple times on photoshoot day, settling into a steady but suitably menacing, burbling idle. As proven by perusing the paperwork, its effortless running today is partly thanks to some hard work commissioned by previous owners. 

At the turn of the 2010s the car was taken off the road more than once and there is an invoice for repair work on the boot floor around that time, whilst more recently (May 2018) the transmission has been restored to the tune of £2400 and all accompanying seals replaced as well. 

There is also a maintenance invoice for replacement paintwork on the driver’s side front quarterpanel in Summer 2010 (the brakes were also overhauled around this time including new master cylinders). Other bodywork repairs were undertaken, to the sills and rear valence, in March 2009. Amongst other evidence, there is a certificate showing that the car passed an emissions test in April 2019.

The seller informs us that the car now runs and drives very well with no issues to report. It is only being sold because it has been competing for attention with another 500SL in the seller’s care and has now lost that competition.

The 500SL speaks of fine, self-assured taste and class whether it’s soaking up sunshine in coastal LA or burbling its way through London with the rain-resisting hardtop firmly attached, with the kind of thorough engineering from bumper to bumper that means it can last for decades – a flagship product of a time when Mercedes-Benz was at the peak of its powers.

The example you see here has indeed lasted for decades and is currently in as good a condition as it’s ever been in that time. Today it is all set and ready to make you feel like an ‘80s movie star wherever you’re going and whatever the weather is doing.

Notice to bidders

This item is sold on an ‘As is Where is’ basis. The condition of this item is the opinion of the seller and may differ from your own opinion. Photos and listing descriptions are for guidance purposes only*.** Car & Classic do not warrant listing accuracy. Full inspection is recommended. Viewings are at the seller’s discretion. Buyer is responsible for delivery and collection of any item purchased.*