The R107 is one of the most enduringly popular soft tops of the last few decades, with famously robust build quality and elegant Paul Braqc-penned lines.
Benefitting from some serious investment over recent years, this example is in fine fettle, both cosmetically and mechanically. With retrimmed seats and a fresh set of white wall tyres, it's ready to be enjoyed in the summer sun.
The current owner has had the SL for five years now and in 2020 decided to have every niggle on the car rectified. Work included having a manifold welded, the fuel pump and filter replaced and dozens of things adjusted and lubricated to have the car running and operating as well as possible.
It has recently had a new set of tyres fitted and some service parts from the SL Shop. With the car now in excellent shape, the owner’s motoring interest has moved towards campers so he has decided to part with the car.
The cream interior contrasts well with the gold bodywork and is in superb condition. Having been recently re-trimmed in cream vinyl, the seats are almost like new with no marks and little sign of use. The car originally had a storage area instead of a rear seat, but the trimmer has made a faithful reproduction back seat to match the fronts.
The carpets are in extremely good condition with almost no marks in the light material and the door cards are also very good, with no warping or scuffing. The dashboard is superb, with no cracks and we are told the instruments and controls all work as they should.
There are two headlinings: one with soft top and one in the removable hard top. Both are in fine condition.
The gold paint is very much of its time and suits the car very well. It is generally in very good condition with hardly any marks or chips and the body work is also very straight. There are some small bubbles under the model badge on the boot but otherwise all looks good.
The chrome bumpers and grill shell are smooth and shiny, in very nice condition, and only the Mercedes badge on the bonnet is missing some enamel.
All four tyres were recently changed for new Maxxis white walls, which only had the blue protective coating cleaned off in time for the photos here, so have fresh tread.
The black fabric hood is in extremely nice condition, folding easily and the rear screen is nice and clear. The passenger side quarter light has a small nick in it but otherwise is good. The removable hard top, complete with heated rear window, is also in great condition with nice paint and latches on easily.
In 2020 the car visited a specialist who went through the SL sorting out every minor niggle to make it mechanically excellent, including the fuel pump and filter, an expensive job in itself, and in November 2021 it was serviced and given a new set of HT leads from the SL Shop.
The engine fires up easily and the automatic gearbox engages forward and reverse gears correctly, and the owner tells us it drives very well with effortless power from the V8.
Looking around the engine bay there are no signs of oil or coolant leaks.
Summary
The SL is one of the greatest sports tourers ever made, with incredible build quality and an elegant design that, to our eyes, has only improved with age. This example looks superb in gold, the V8 gives a perfect top down soundtrack and the new interior makes the cabin a very nice place to be. Altogether this is a very appealing example of the model.
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