Mercedes 300 SL: The Gullwing That Changed Sports Cars Forever

Some sports cars just earn their place in history. Maybe they broke a record, brought new tech, or looked so good people couldn't stop staring. The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL did all three.

Those gullwing doors, the style, the tech, the racing wins. It became the symbol of classy mid-century driving. Total icon. Today it's one of the most sought-after classics out there and easily one of the most important cars of the 20th century.

Where It Came From

The 300 SL's story starts with a race car from a couple years earlier: the W194 from 1952. Had a 3.0-liter inline-six making 175 horses and 153 lb-ft of torque. Not enough to match Ferraris and Jaguars on power alone, but the W194 was light enough to keep up. Seriously competitive.

Built on a steel tube spaceframe that kept the driver safer but made regular doors impossible. So Mercedes went with gullwing doors. Those doors later became the 300 SL's signature move.

W194 dominated racing. Won Le Mans. Won the Carrera Panamericana. Total beast.

Mercedes developed an updated version for 1953 using magnesium alloy and an upgraded engine. Scrapped it though when they decided to go all-in on Formula 1 instead. The W194's DNA survived in a different way: a production car that went on sale a year later called the 300 SL. That car became legendary.

What It Had Under the Hood

The 300 SL got the M198 engine, same family as the M194 from the race car. Both came from an earlier engine called the M186 from 1951.

M198 was built just for the 300 SL and had fuel injection, pretty wild for the time. Put out 215 horses and 203 lb-ft, hooked to a four-speed manual sending power to the rear. Topped out at 146 mph, hit 60 in 9.3 seconds.

Roadster version showed up in 1957 with 240 horses and 217 lb-ft. Also got better suspension that made handling and ride quality way better.

How It Looked

Design is what people remember most besides actually driving one. Looked period-correct but also futuristic somehow, gave it this timeless vibe. Steel and aluminum bodywork. Silver was the standard color, the one everyone associates with it, though a few other colors existed. Round headlights, rectangular grille with rounded corners, big Mercedes badge smack in the middle.

Inside was stylish and luxurious. Most people went leather but there were three fabric options: gray and blue, gray and green, or cream and red. Gullwing doors looked incredible but made climbing in and out a little awkward.

Coupe's trunk was tiny, basically just fit a spare wheel. Little bit of space behind the seats though. Roadster had a bigger trunk and came with two matching leather suitcases.

Modern Version: The SLS AMG

Decades later the 300 SL got a spiritual successor: the SLS AMG. First car AMG built completely from scratch. AMG started as a tuner before becoming Mercedes' official high-performance arm. The SLS was their first ground-up design instead of modifying an existing Mercedes.

Came out in 2009 for 2010, available as coupe and roadster, aluminum space frame. Design pulled hard from the original with that long hood and gullwing doors. Absolutely stunning mix of old and new. Just over 10 years old now and already turning into a classic itself.

Engine was also a throwback. The M159, last naturally aspirated V8 Mercedes made. 6.2 liters, 563 horses, 479 lb-ft, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. AMG made special versions too like the GT and Black Series. Black Series pushed 622 horses.

Only built 13,000 coupes and 6,000 roadsters total. Lasted five years, stopped production in 2015.