Chassis No.

198.042.7500233


Engine No.

198.980.7500251


Transmission No.

7500266


Body No.

A 198.042.7500146



When the 300 SL Roadster appeared at the Geneva Salon in March 1957, it answered a request the ever-prescient Max Hoffman had pressed on Mercedes-Benz-an open version of the Gullwing built for road use.

Hoffman had a gift for reading the American market, having already pushed Porsche toward the 356 Speedster and prodded BMW into building the 507.

The resulting 300 SL Roadster proved far more than a Gullwing with its roof removed.

The engineers in Stuttgart reworked the tubular space frame from the windshield aft, fortifying it with additional members so that conventional front-hinged doors could replace the Gullwing's roof-hinged arrangement, allowing easier entry without sacrificing torsional rigidity.



A low-pivot, single swing axle with a compensating spring tamed the Gullwing's tendency toward sudden oversteer, a trait that had made the earlier car demandi...