Highlights
• Low owners
• Been in the same family for many decades
• Lots of historical paperwork
• Rare 250 variant – Less than 50 examples are thought to still exist
• Rare 250 variant – Less than 50 examples are thought to still exist
The Appeal
When the W113 Mercedes SL was released to an eager crowd in 1963 it was an instant classic. Penned by an accomplished team of designers within the Mercedes factory, the W113 gained its lovely ‘Pagoda’ nickname due to the slightly concaved hardtop roof. Throughout its production, only 50,000 W113s were produced leading to a highly sort after classic in today’s market.
This example has been the pride and joy of the current owner since 1982, receiving a lot of love and attention over this ownership the family has made the difficult decision to move her on to the next loving owner.
Finished in an extremely beautiful combination of Racing Green and tan interior this rare 250 model will be able to sit pride of place within the new owner’s collection. Being such a rare car, you seldom see these come up for sale, especially in such good condition.
The History and Paperwork
- Hitting the road on the 16th of August 1967 this lovely car starts its life with the first owner
- Spending 15 years with the first owner it is then acquired by the current owner in 1982
- Since then, it has been their pride and joy, receiving a lot of love and attention over the previous 40 years it now sits in amazing condition
- Throughout the years it has been through quite a bit of work to keep her in tip-top condition
- To begin with, the body has been resprayed and baked in an oven to provide a finish to match the original specification
- The fuel tank and associated parts have been replaced
- To keep the body in great condition there has been some welding undertaken. These areas include the wheel arch, rear sill, and subframe
- The door cards have been replaced with the correct materials to match the original Panaz Brookland 801 tan
- Although the original seat bases remain the material has been replaced as per the original specification in Panaz Brookland 801 tan leather
- Importantly the car’s hood was replaced in 2015. The family had to wait for a couple of months as the beige Mohair hood made its way across the pacific
- Along with the hood, the rear bumper was replaced in 2015
- A prospective buyer will be happy to hear that this car comes with a large history file, it holds a lot of invoices, MOT certificates, and the all-important modern important V5c. The majority of this paperwork has been photographed.
The Interior
• The seats have been re-upholstered in Panaz Brookland 801 leather
• 2 new door cards were made and fitted
• The Mohair hood has been replaced
A beautiful combination of brown leather and beige headlining the interior of the Pagoda is in excellent condition. A lot of work has been completed to make sure that it looks as good as new.
The seats are finished in a beautiful brown leather, or to be more specific, Panaz Brookland 801, during the recovering process the original seat frames were kept but the foam and springs were replaced to provide a nice and comfortable ride. Along with the new seats both of the door cards were made bespoke for this car, finished in matching brown leather they look great. Along with the seats and door cards, the carpets are also new and show little to no signs of damage.
When you slide yourself down into the seat you are presented with a lovely, thin-rimmed original steering wheel. This does show some signs of use, but it does prove that this car has been used properly over its lifetime and not hidden away in the depths of a collection.
Behind the lovely period steering wheel, the factory-fitted dials are still in great condition. All of the vital information is clearly visible through the glass, which is still crystal clear.
The interior of this Pagoda is truly marvellous, and the next owner will inherit the hard work and dedication that the current owner has put into this example over their ownership. They have created many happy memories in the interior of this car and now it’s your chance to create many more.
The Exterior
• The Racing Green paint has been re-painted professionally
• 4 new wheels and tyres have been fitted
• Both the hard and soft tops are in great condition
After nearly 60 years this Pagoda still looks as good and as stylish as it did when it rolled off the production line in 1967. This particular example has received a lot of love to make sure that she was always looking her best, and thanks to this dedication it could be one of the best-looking examples around.
There are a lot of white and silver Pagodas gracing the world's roads but rarely do you find a Racing Green with a brown interior. This colour combination is actually highly sort after today with a lot of modern cars leaving factories in this combination. It must be said that practically all of the exterior features are in great condition, from the colour-coded hubcaps to the professionally re-sprayed paintwork.
With this being an SL, you have two roof options, a hardtop, and a soft top. The colour matching hardtop is in great condition, the rubber seals are starting to perish but these should be easy to source online. The Mohair soft-top was replaced in 2015 so although it was not erected on the day of the photos it should still be in great condition.
A little funny feature on this SL is the ‘280 SL’ badge on the boot lid, no one quite knows how this ended up on there because this is a genuine 250SL. This makes it a lot rarer than the 280, as the 250SL was only produced for one year, of the 5,000 250 SLs produced almost a third went to the United States so to find a right-hand-drive version is extremely rare.
Overall, the exterior of this is in great condition. Whoever gets to own this car on the next chapter of its life will have one stunning looking classic capable of winning best in the show.
The Mechanics
• Rare ‘250’ variant – only 5,196 were built
• Comfortable automatic gearbox
• Great car to drive
Not only is the Pagoda a beautiful car to look at it is also a stunning car to drive, an out and out classic sports car it is the perfect car for a twisty country road on a sunny summer’s day.
The 250 SL was actually introduced a couple of years after the 230, at the 1967 Geneva Motor Show, and with a production run of only one year, it is now the rarest variant to find. Mechanically the 250 SL retained the stiff and sporty feeling of the early SLs but with the addition of a new engine and rear disc brakes, it was a bit more agile when pushing on. The aforementioned new engine was Mercedes’ M129.II engine, or in plain English, a 2.5l inline-six with 150ps. This engine was noticeably more pokey than the engine fitted to the 230s.
Over the years this car has been well looked after and with a wealth of invoices that track a lot of mechanical work over this time, a prospective buyer will be able to see that this car has truly been loved.
On the day that the photos were taken, she drove out of her garage space and into position fine. When it came time to put her back, she didn’t want to play ball, so the family have just had new points and a new rotor arm installed. She now fires quickly and idles nice and smooth
Old Mercedes’ are known for their reliability, with some examples being known to have millions of miles on them, so with only 70,000 miles on the clock, this Pagoda should have a lot of life left in her. The next owner of this beautiful car will be able to explore the world driving one of the best-looking cars to ever grace the roads.
Summary
With so many excellent attributes this rare 250 SL will be the perfect addition to anyone’s collection. With all of the paperwork that comes with her, the truly individual story of the same ownership since 1982, and the amazing visual condition inside and out this is a one in a million kind of car, you cannot afford to miss out on this one.
As summer rapidly approaches a stylish and classic convertible should be at the top of everyone’s shopping list and that is why this Pagoda should be your next purchase.
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