LOT 128

1957 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL Roadster Registration no. 602 XVJ Chassis no. 121040-7500658

Estimate: £80,000 - £100,000

Lot 128

1957 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL Roadster
Registration no. 602 XVJ Chassis no. 121040-7500658

Goodwood Members' Meeting Sale: Event Cancelled: All Lots Listed Still Available for Sale until 17:00 GMT Sunday 29th March|29 March 2020, 13:00 BST|Chichester, Goodwood

1957 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL Roadster
Registration no. 602 XVJ
Chassis no. 121040-7500658

*Delivered new to the USA
*Left-hand drive
*Restored in 2018
*Exceptional condition

Footnotes

For those insufficiently wealthy to afford its hyper-expensive race-bred sports car - the 300 SL - Mercedes-Benz offered the less exotic but no less refined 190 SL. Announced in 1954 and based on the 180 saloon whose all-independently-suspended running gear it used, the 190 SL did not enter production until January 1955, the delay being caused by alterations aimed at strengthening the saloon's shortened platform to compensate for the open body's reduced stiffness.

"Very few new sports cars have been so eagerly awaited or so long in coming as the moderately priced SL version of the Mercedes-Benz," observed Road & Track magazine. Mounted on a detachable sub-frame along with the four-speed manual gearbox, front suspension and steering, the power unit was a 1,897cc overhead-camshaft four - the first such engine ever to feature in a Mercedes-Benz.

Breathing through twin Solex downdraft carburettors, the M121 unit produced 105bhp at 5,700rpm, an output sufficient to propel the 190 SL to 60mph in around 14 seconds and on to a top speed of 106mph. The fact that the 190 SL's ride was more boulevard than sporting, and that many contemporary sports cars could out-perform it while costing a good deal less, did nothing to deter sales. The model was a big hit in the USA, where many of the slightly fewer than 26,000 produced between 1955 and 1963 found homes.

A left-hand drive, model manufactured in April 1957 for the United States market, this 190 SL benefits from a recent restoration, and according to the vendor is in 'better than new' condition. The vendor advises us that the car has been stripped and rebuilt, and describes the end result as 'simply superb'. The paintwork is said to be gleaming, and the chrome finished superbly, glistening in the sun.

The Mercedes is finished in its original red livery while the interior is trimmed in black fluted leather and oatmeal carpeting. The engine has been overhauled and has recently benefited from a fine tune and set-up by specialists PT Classics. This freshly restored 190 SL comes with a Mercedes-Benz dating letter and V5C document and is said to be ready to go.

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