• Fahrzeugstandort: England
? One of only 59 delivered new to the UK
? Matching chassis, engine and registration numbers
? Ordered new with the desirable Rudge knock-off wheels option
? Restored by Daimler-Benz between 1989 and 1992
? Known ownership history and Scott Collection since 2011
? Recently recommissioned by Jim Stokes Workshops Ltd
When it was first announced by Mercedes-Benz, the production 300 SL Coup was a startling car built to the German concerns customarily startling standards, but above all what left the general public most open-mouthed about the new car was its upward-opening Gullwing doors...! - Motors, 1963.
Post-war, Mercedes-Benz had returned to competition in 1952, fielding its new 300 SL (W194) sports cars configured in both open roadster and closed gullwing form ? the latter proving the more successful. In that years Mille Miglia, a pair of gullwings finished a creditable 2nd and 4th overall and this promising start was followed up by victory in the gruelling Carrera Panamericana. For the Le Mans 24-Hour Race in June, a trio of gullwings were entered with a first and second overall sealing the cars world-beating credentials.
Launched in 1954, the production 300 SL retained the spaceframe chassis (the feature that necessitated the gullwing door design) and lightweight aluminium-alloy bodywork of the W194 racer while its mechanical underpinnings, like the latters, owed much to the contemporary Mercedes-Benz 300 luxury saloon. A 2, 996cc overhead-camshaft inline six, the 300 SLs engine was canted at 45 degrees to achieve a low bonnet line and developed to produce 215bhp (DIN) at 5, 800rpm using Bosch mechanical fuel injection. A four-speed, all-synchromesh manual gearbox transmitted power to the hypoid bevel rear axle. Suspension was independent all round: by wishbones and coil springs at the front, with swing axles and coil springs at the rear.
A production 300 SL (W198) was tested by Road & Track magazine in 1955, accelerating from 0-60mph in 7.4 seconds on its way to a top speed of 140mph. Half expecting the long-awaited 300 SL to provide an anti-climax, R&T were delighted to find the new car, far beyond our wildest expectations. In fact, we can state unequivocally that in our opinion the 300 SL coup is the ultimate in an all-round sportscar. It combines more desirable features in one streamlined package than we ever imagined or hoped would be possible. Performance? It accelerates from a dead start to 100mph in just over 17 seconds. Dual purpose? A production model 300 SL can make a very acceptable showing in any type of sportscar competition. Yet the car is extremely tractable and easy to drive in traffic. Comfort? The fully enclosed 300 SL is the most comfortable (and safe) high-speed cross-country car built today. High praise indeed and, as accolades go, it could not have been any better.
A 300 SL roadster featuring conventional doors followed and was first exhibited at the Geneva Salon in May 1957. Its racing parentage notwithstanding, the 300 SL remains a thoroughly practical car, as civilised in city traffic as it is exhilarating on the autostrada. By the time 300 SL Coup production ceased in 1957, some 1, 400 examples had found customers.
This magnificent Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing is one of only 59 delivered to the UK where they were eagerly snapped up by a veritable whos who of the countrys motoring elite such as Rob Walker (F1 team owner), David Brown (Aston Martin proprietor), Earl Howe (BRDC president), King Hussein of Jordan (studying in Britain at the time), R S Wilkins (financier and Brooklands racing driver), Harry Hyams (property magnate) and Daniel de Ferranti (entrepreneur and amateur racer).
Chassis 00152 was ordered by a Mr V D Yates and supplied in April 1955 with the registration 2 DMY. It is not known how long Mr Yates kept his 300 SL but the car remained in England until the late 1980s when it was
