1967 Mercedes-Benz 250SL

Details

Oldtimer Australia is delighted to offer for sale a 1967 Mercedes-Benz 250SL.

The data card on file confirms that this car is a factory right hand drive example that was delivered new to the UK. There is a letter on file from Mercedes-Benz dated 31^st July 1991 confirming the car was produced on the 31^st August 1967 and shipped to Great Britain, which correlates to the data card. The car was delivered new in ‘silver grey’ (colour code 180) with a black vinyl interior (trim code (116).

This particular car is California Coupe, which has a fold down rear bench seat for occasional use in the place of where the soft top would sit when folded. This model came with a removable hard top, but no soft top.

It is understood that the car came to Australia very early in its life. This is a well-travelled car that then found its way to North America and it was acquired in California by its then owner in the late 1980’s. The car was subsequently imported back into Australia and its Brisbane based owner used and enjoyed the car for many years before it was eventually parked up in circa 2000. He intended to restore the car, but that never eventuated and it was sold to the prior to current owner in January 2016. Whilst on the road in Brisbane the car carried the Queensland registration OOO 250.

Immediately after the previous owners acquired this car it was sent to Wolf Grodd’s Sleeping Beauties in Brisbane, which is one of Australia’s leading high end restoration shops. They have restored cars that have been exhibited at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

The car was completed and exhibited at Motorclassica, which is Australia’s leading concours d’elegance and classic car show, in October 2018.

Oldtimer Australia is very familiar with this car having sold it to the current owner three years ago. At that time the odometer read 2,168 km. He is now moving in another direction with his car collection and has reluctantly decided to sell the car.

The car has been used sparingly since it was restored and only travelled circa 4,500 km since the restoration was completed.

Even though the restoration of this Mercedes-Benz 250SL car was completed in excess of five years ago, today it still presents and drives like a freshly restored car. It is STUNNING! The only thing we can fault is the slight discolouration of the white walls on the tyres!

In consultation with Sleeping Beauties, the previous owner chose to finish the car in the Mercedes-Benz colour of ‘arabian grey’ (colour code 124) with red leather upholstery and red carpets. As you will see from the photographs this was a spectacular choice. The paint is fresh with a strong depth of colour and unmarked. The chrome is also vibrant and contrasts the grey paint perfectly. All of the external trim, badges, lights/lenses and the glass present like new, with the exception of the passenger’s door glass which has a very small chip at the top. The hardtop has probably been off the car a handful of times since it was restored. It is the original hard top for this car as confirmed by the data card. It is in excellent condition and it is a perfect fit.

Inside the cabin, the car also presents like new. The leather is unmarked and it remains supple. All of the instruments and controls are in excellent condition and everything is in working order. Even the carpets are like new! The Becker Mexico radio completes the look. The owner chose to have modern air conditioning fitted to the car which blows ice cold.

Under the bonnet everything is also immaculate. The spot welds on the panels from the original construction remain in place as do the ‘notches’ on the front guards adjacent to the headlights. Open the boot and you reveal a space that has never been used. The car is fitted with Maxxis MA-1 tyres all round which are date stamped 20/16 (week 20 2016) and in very good condition.

So what’s it like to drive? It’s fair to say it drives every bit as good as it looks . . . and perhaps even better! The engine starts easily at the first turn of the key, even from cold, and it settles straight into ‘that’ typical Mercedes Benz idle. Wait a short time for the car to warm up, then select ‘4’ (drive) and you’re away . . . the straight six goes about its business and the car just cruises with that ‘German efficiency’ one would expect of a fully sorted Pagoda. There’s no fuss, it’s just very easy to drive and incredibly smooth. After only a few hundred meters you immediately realise how good this car is. The engine revs willingly through the rev range and the automatic transmission is incredibly smooth up and down the box. The steering is precise and direct, the suspension feels incredibly tight and there are no rattles or squeaks. The brakes pull the car up efficiently and in a straight line.

The car is accompanied by some historical documentation, a thick file of restoration receipts, photos of the restoration, an owner’s manual (copy), jack and tool kit.

The restoration brief was simple – restore the car to the highest possible standard. Mission accomplished Mr Grodd . . . this car is ‘one out of the box’! We don’t usually include underside photos of our cars in our listings, but we’ve made an exception here. You could eat off the underside of this car! An obscene amount of money was spent on this Mercedes-Benz 250SL and it would be hard to find better.

Highlights:

• fully restored and immaculately presented Mercedes-Benz 250SL.
• factory right hand drive example.
• restored by world renowned specialists – Sleeping Beauties.
• finished in ‘arabian grey’ with a contrasting red interior, which is an ‘absolutely perfect’ and STUNNING colour combination.
• exhibited at Motorclassica 2018.
• fully sorted and ready to show and enjoy.

 

Background

Following the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Europe’s car industry was decimated. In Germany both Daimler and Benz went back to producing cars post-war, however, times were tough. A merger between Daimler and Benz would ensure that both companies survived and following a technical co-operation agreement in 1924, the companies formally merged on the 1st July 1926. Mercedes-Benz was born!

Subsequently, Mercedes-Benz went on to build some of the greatest cars of all time. The cars from Stuttgart bearing the three-pointed star all had one thing in common . . . they were renowned for their technical innovation, build quality, luxury and performance.

In the 1950’s Mercedes Benz produced one of the greatest cars of all time – the iconic 300SL Gullwing and 300SL Coupe. Whilst fabulous cars, they were very expensive and generally sold to the rich and famous. Mercedes wanted to build a sporting luxury car that still looked classical in the mould of the 300SL, but it had to be affordable and the plan was to build such a car in far greater numbers than the exclusive 300SL’s. Enter the Type W121 or 190SL as it became known in the mid 1950’s. This model was an outstanding success and circa 25,000 cars were built over the next 8 years of production. The formula worked and Mercedes Benz carried it on with great success in the 1960’s with the Type W113 230SL/250SL/280SL models. This evolved into the Type R107/C107 280SL(C)/350SL(C)/380SL(C)/450SL(C) models built throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s.

The Mercedes-Benz 230SL (Type W113.042) was first shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1963. Production started by June of that year and the car was a resounding success for Mercedes-Benz with 19,831 cars built in just over three and a half years of production. In late 1966 the Mercedes-Benz 250SL (Type W113.043) was introduced. This model had many subtle improvements, but the most significant was an increase in engine size to 2496cc giving the car significantly improved performance. The majority of the 5,196 250SL’s were built in 1967 before production ceased in early 1968. By late 1967 the final iteration of the Type W113 cars, the Mercedes-Benz 280SL (Type W113.044) was introduced. The Type M180 engine was bored out to provide a total engine capacity of 2778cc and a further increase in power and torque over its predecessor. Mercedes-Benz built 23,885 280SL’s taking the total number of Type W113 cars built to almost 48,912 over 9 years of production.

The Paul Baracq designed Type W113 Mercedes-Benz is today recognised as an all time classic. In recent years the demand for these cars has skyrocketed and the Mercedes-Benz ‘Pagodas’ have become highly sought after by collectors and enthusiasts worldwide

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