Background
Apart from red braces and stripy shirts, city slickers back in the ’80s were likely to own one of three things. Young blades on the up might have had a Peugeot 205 GTi, while their line managers may well have plumped for an Audi Quattro. Their boss had a Mercedes R107 SL.
The history of the roadster is intimately linked to that of its sister model, the SLC coupé. Just six months after its première the SL was followed in October 1971 by a comfortable four-seater sports coupé, the 350 SLC.
The new SL boasted many safety features – crumple zones and a padded steering wheel among them – but it wasn’t the safety aspects that motivated customers around the world to buy the new model. It was the promise of an open-top car that was a successful piece of engineering all round – and it was in fact the only one of its kind offered in the USA over a period of several years.
Its distinctive front end with the dominant SL face, the wide-band headlamps and grooved turn indicator covers had a powerful aura; the lines of the low silhouette were harmonious – soft top open or closed, or with hardtop. And the very slight inward curve of the boot lid, along with the concave hardtop, were reminiscent of Pagoda days.
The new soft top took just 30 seconds to open or close. Folded, it disappeared underneath a steel cover. Creature comforts were served by an excellent heating system and wind-deflecting mouldings on the A-pillars, which also served to channel off mud-laden water in the rain, and dirt-repelling covers on the exterior mirrors enabled good visibility. They kept the side windows clean even in poor weather.
During its 18-year production run the R 107 was driven by a whole series of six- and eight-cylinder engines. Its model designations are accordingly quite varied. The eight-cylinder models were led by the 350 SL (1971 to 1980), whose 3.5-litre engine (M 116) was from the W 108, W 109 and W 111 saloons. The 200bhp V8 helped the sports car, which weighed 1600kg, to clock nine seconds for 0-60 and reach a top speed of 130mph.
In September 1977 Mercedes-Benz launched the frankly bemusingly named 450 SLC 5.0, with the new M117 engine now displacing 5-litres. The new V8 was initially stress-tested in the low production run 450 SLC 5.0 in case any problems were unearthed, and costly recalls needed. Mercedes-Benz was cautious because its new engine was built using a technique known as chill-casting.
The all-alloy block did away with conventional iron cylinder liners, in favour of a high-silicon-alloy material. This saved 40kg over iron, but was untested. It turned out that the engineers needn’t have worried – the engine proved just as strong and reliable as its forebear.
The 5-litre V8 delivered 241bhp at 5000rpm, good for 0-60mph in 8.5 seconds and a top speed of 140mph. The vehicle’s bonnet and boot lid were made of aluminium, and it had light-alloy wheels as standard. On the outside the 450 SLC 5.0 was recognisable by, among other things, a narrow spoiler on the rear end.
At the Geneva Motor Show in March 1980 Mercedes unveiled an updated SL and SLC. The previous three-speed automatic transmission was replaced with a four-speed version. But the biggest change was that M117 V8 – and finally a name that made sense – 500 SL.
