Introduced early in 1971, this two-seater sports car was the third generation of the Mercedes-Benz SL. As with the previous generation SL's, the vehicle came as an open roadster, with removable hardtop option, and went on to become one of the longest running styles from Mercedes-Benz.

A range of engines were available, with one of the more powerful being the 4.5 litre unit. With 214 BHP, the naturally aspirated 4.5 Litre 16v V8 petrol engine accelerates the 450SL to 62 mph in 8.8 seconds and on to a maximum speed of 134 mph.

There’s not an abundance of paperwork that comes with this car, but it has the all-important stamped service book and its last MOT expired in July 2014 with a recorded mileage of 57,982, and prior to that, in 2006 it was recorded with 45,626 miles.

Since 2014 the car has been part of a large private collection of cars and upon purchase it was taken to Mercedes Benz for a complete health check. All the works identified were addressed including replacing the bulkhead and welding to the underneath. Once brought up to scratch the car has since been professionally stored and regularly run though doing hardly any miles.

The car appears to be very much original and in very nice, robust condition all round, being offered for auction due to rationalising the large collection!

The car comes with its V5c showing 6 previous keepers, 2 keys and a nicely stamped up service book, together with various MOT certificates from previous years.

The Blue MB-Tex seats have a nice aged, rather than worn, patina about them, and the whole interior looks to be original and in very good condition for its age.

Mercedes put this interior together with care and it has worn well, with the dashboard and all the wooden trim being in nice condition with no signs of any cracking or damage anywhere.

The deep seats remain very supportive and all the wood inserts, door panels and carpets are all in very good condition for a car over 40 years old. The switchgear all seems good and the vendor assures us that all the electrical equipment and instruments operate as they should.

An aftermarket stereo unit has been fitted. The blue carpeting throughout has worn well and the chrome door trim and seat folding brackets are pretty good. The boot is clean and tidy and appears structurally sound.

The original spare wheel, jack, a set of tools and emergency triangle are contained underneath and behind the dark blue carpeting.

Finished in Sahara Yellow this SL is a hard car to miss. The paintwork is in really nice condition all round, and all the panels look good too. The chromework and all the lights and trim are all in great shape with little of concern other than the cracked front number plate and some rubber trim on the bumpers needing minor attention. 

There are some minor scratches on the door mirror, a very small dent in the corner of the bootlid and some window and door seal rubbers look like they might need replacing. There is a mild delamination in a small part of the rear hardtop window and the chrome trim on the hardtop has picked up some scratches probably while not fitted to the car. 

The hardtop has been recently renovated and fits well though there is a very small dent on the roof section, and when removed there is the brand new soft-top to enjoy. The wheels are original and they all have recently fitted rubber so overall this SL looks in great shape.

Under the bonnet and in the boot all looks well and as it should with no obvious signs of water ingress in the boot and everything looking as it should up the front end with no signs of any coolant or oil leaks.

Having not been driven for a good few years the car has been recently fully serviced with all fluids and filters replaced. The petrol tank was completely drained and cleaned, new petrol lines were fitted and the injectors were sent out for professional cleaning. Brake lines are all new with brake parts renewed as required. The car is reported to run and drive very sweetly.

This is a fine example of the Mercedes SL. A pleasure to drive in either roadster or coupe form, the SL will never lose its wide appeal and popularity. Mercedes build quality and engineering come as standard on these cars which certainly adds to the overall appeal and to find a nice original example like this one, is becoming a rare occurrence. 

The driving experience is still good, even by today’s standards, though the car itself is probably better suited to gentle cruising than high speed track work, and the benefit of it being both a coupe and a convertible makes it a very usable classic all year round.