300 SL Gullwing Coupe (Germany, 1954)

This historic model’s life started out when the post-World War II European circumstances couldn’t allow Mercedes-Benz to maintain its pre-War Grand Prix program. Instead, they would start focusing on an out-of-the-circuits sports cars production.

Making its first public appearance at the 1954 New York Motorshow, the 300 SL ‘Gullwing’ coupé would stand as Daimler-Benz’s first post-War sports car.
Drawn from its preceding racing model, this new 300 SL would preserve its characteristic upward-opening doors and yet appear more sophisticated, as well as being the first road car to have a fuel injection system.
The company’s official American importer, Max E. Hoffman, is the one responsible for the conversion from “race version” to “road version” of the 300 SL, as he predicted that a commercial version of this model would be a guaranteed success in the United States...