Modern classic: Mercedes-Benz R107 SL

Eighteen years. That’s how long the R107 version of the Mercedes-Benz SL was on sale. It was launched into the era of the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon, the topping out of the World Trade Centre and Jackie Stewart winning the F1 title in a Tyrell.

By the time production ended we were in a world of Tiananmen Square protests, McDonalds in Moscow and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Everything changed, yet perhaps Mercedes reasoned that in tumultuous times not all change was growth.

Its predecessor, the achingly pretty W113 – or ‘Pagoda’ – series was a relative cranefly in terms of durability, in market for a mere eight years. This Paul Bracq design evolved what we expected from an SL, morphing the design language away from the voluptuous ’50s shapes, combining a more lantern-jawed, slab-sided look for the ’60s with elfin pillars and a delicate, airy stance over its wheels.

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Everything changed, yet perhaps Mercedes reasoned that in tumultuous times not all change was growth.

The R107 refined that aesthetic, with conceptual body design courtesy of Ferdinand Hellhage and Josef Gallitzendörfer, the latter helping shape the successor R129 car credited largely to Bruno Sacco. Sketches show the base silhouette, but the personality and details of the R107 were very much the work of Friedrich Geiger’s team at the MB studio in Sindelfingen.

The subtlety of the compound curves in what was initially a workmanlike basic proposal, the near-perfect judgment of body brightwork and the creation of not only a short-wheelbase convertible but also a longer wheelbase 2+2 coupe – the C107 SLC – was a triumph for Geiger, a notoriously difficult perfectionist whose resume also included icons like the 300SL Gullwing, to finally sign off.

The design brief unashamedly targeted the US market. Whereas the US accounted for around 40 percent of total Mercedes sales, the R107/C107 would see fully 60 percent of total production cross the north Atlantic. It was a bold move.

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Ralph Nader’s 1965 treatise Unsafe At Any Speed had subtly shifted public perception on the safety of production cars, following in the wake of the Corvair debacle, and brought a focus on low-pivot swing-axle suspensions layouts, which, at the time of the SL’s launch, still underpinned the W108 280SE and 300SEL sedans.

Nader also criticised passive safety systems, automatic gearshift layouts, dazzling interior chrome plating and many other factors that Mercedes took seriously in the development of the R107. The fuel tank was also moved above the rear axle to protect it from rear-end collisions.

Mercedes knew something though. So paranoid had US manufacturers become on the subject of safety, that full convertible cars virtually vanished from sale, almost overnight.

If a drop-top with peerless build quality and unimpeachable safety provision could be brought to market, it’d have a virtual clear run at things. That was the opportunity. The execution was near-perfect.

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First to market in early ’71 was the 350SL, fitted with a Bosch fuel-injected 3.5-litre V8 and an optional four-speed auto gearbox and capable of 0-100km/h in just eight seconds. It wasn’t until 1972 that the SL was federalised, and early US-market 350SLs were powered by a 4.5-litre V8 with a three-speed auto, renamed 450SL in ’73.

At the same time, the 450SL appeared in other global markets, with six-pot 280SL models appearing the following year. By 1981, the SLC coupe had been phased out, to be replaced by the bigger, sleeker SEC spun off the W126 S-Class chassis.

At the same time, the US-market 380SL was introduced, while in Europe a three-model SL line of 280, 380 and 500SL. From September 1985 the 280 SL was replaced by a new 300 SL, and the 380 SL by a 420 SL; the 500 SL continued and a 560 SL was introduced for certain extra-European markets, notably the USA, Australia and Japan.

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The 560SL is the red car we see here, courtesy of the good burghers at Dutton Garage in Melbourne.

Contrary to expectation, the big capacity 5.6-litre V8 doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the quickest of the SL line.

That honour goes to the post-1980 Euro 500SL, which developed 177kw at 5000rpm and 402Nm at 3200rpm and, as such, was a big grey import target into the States. By contrast, the 5.5-litre 560SL, developed for low-emission markets such as California, was good for 169kW at 5200rpm and 389Nm at 3500rpm. At 1660kg, it also carted an additional 60kg of ballast up the road.

The caveat is that the Australian 560SL models were a little less strangled and developed a hale 182kW and 400Nm. That still means a distinctly relaxed power to weight ratio in line with a modern Kia Cerato GT, but you’re certainly not buying this boulevardier for traffic light grands prix.

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All of which makes the 560 very much an investment target in the R107 range. The usual advice applies to steer clear of cars with non- original paint finishes, unsympathetic body updates and missing hard tops if you want to get a decent return.

Although the SL is probably best known for its 14-inch Bundt or ‘Mexican Hat’ alloy wheels, the 560SL was supplied from new with 15-inch flat-face alloys, nicknamed the “Gullideckel” (manhole cover). These mimic the 15-hole pattern of the old Bundt wheels but feature a more aerodynamic face. For the love of all that is holy, don’t fit five-spoke alloys to an R107.

The 17x9 five-spoke aero Mercedes wheel does fit to the R107, but fitting them is like putting your granny in a pair of Yeezys.

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The 560SL has enjoyed a strong reputation in Australia as an investment vehicle and prices reflect that. Some have clearly been driven and enjoyed and it’s a great high-kilometre vehicle, over- engineered in the classic Benz vein, with its big understressed V8 and heavy-duty mechanicals. It’s not totally infallible though.

Timing chains will need attention at around 150,000 kilometres and genuine high-kilometre vehicles will benefit from valve guide work. Maintain them properly and the engine bottom ends, gearboxes, electrics and air conditioning systems are resolutely rugged. Look for rust, especially around the wheelarches, sills and scuttle.

The advice with the 560SL is to spend a little more in order to net a cosmetically good example rather than making a false investment on a slightly tired-looking car. Defer maintenance on an SL and the bills will soon stack up. Brakes, fluids, belts, thermostats and transmissions can generate significant costs if routine maintenance is neglected.

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Here in Australia we didn’t get the full gamut of R107 models, missing out on the lovely 300SL, the unlovely 420SL and the iconic 500SL. Note that the number comes before the letters with an R107. It was only with the successor R129 that Mercedes-Benz began switching them round.

We did get the 280SL (‘74-‘77), the 350SL (‘71-‘76), the 380SL (’80-’85), the 450SL (’72-’80) and the mighty 560SL (’85-’89). If you want to get particularly nerdy about the R107, the model lifecycle can be split into four generations.

The Series 1 cars ran from 1971 to 1975 and comprise 280, 350 and 450SL models. These ran finicky Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection and had no emissions gear, with the most desirable cars being the early four-speed 450SLs.

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The Series 1 facelift (1976-1980) cars featured Bosch K-Jetronic mechanical fuel injection, but this generation landed just in time to be hobbled by ADR27A pollution regulations, which necessitated an extra air pump to dilute emissions at idle. Many owners simply removed the belt from this pump, thus reducing parasitic losses.

With the deletion of the SLC coupe in favour of the bigger SEC, the SL’s detailing was more closely aligned to the W126 S-Class with the Series 2 (1980-1985). Light alloy engine blocks were introduced for the V8s, anti-lock brakes were fitted as standard and transmissions were tweaked for sprightlier performance.

Finally we have the Series 3 cars which ran from 1986 to 1989, with bigger 15-inch wheels, Bosch KE Jetronic injection, revised lights and spoilers, a modernised interior with optional driver airbag, outside temperature gauge, heated seats and mirrors, as well as suspension and braking upgrades.

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The deeper air dam reduces frontal lift by a hefty 30 percent. This series introduced the 560SL, and while some feel that the Series 3 cars are the Vegas-residence Elvis phase of the R107’s lifespan, others adore them for their engineering and easy sophistication.

The Series 3 cars, like the 560SL featured here, were offered with two-tone dashboards, a particular late-’80s favourite, and they feel decidedly compact inside, perhaps not surprising for a car whose 2456mm wheelbase is dwarfed by that of a current base Mini.

The recirculating ball steering is as lazy as the transmission’s logic, but it doesn’t feel out of character in any way. The 560SL is a car to just surf along in, fat-arming it out of the window, safe in the knowledge that trying too hard is the antithesis of cool.

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It’s aged beautifully too, with only the rubber rear spoiler looking a little ’80s gauche. And that’s because despite the date on the log book, it’s not an ’80s car at all, with all that implies, rather a design that was penned in the late 1960s and is all the lovelier for it.

The R107’s lifespan saw it initially take on the likes of the Jaguar E-type and retire outselling cars like the Cadillac Allante. It remains the archetypal SL and is likely to remain that way as it’s doubtful any subsequent SL will outsell its 300,175 global sales nor approach its 18-year duration in market.

As former Mercedes-Benz boss Dr Dieter Zetsche once noted, “There are around 900 million cars in the world, and thousands of models, but there are only a handful of automotive icons. Our SL is one of them.”

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African Queens

Every Mercedes-Benz R107 ever built came out of the Sindelfingen plant, right? Not so fast. Both the 450SL and SLC models were also assembled in South Africa by United Car and Diesel Distributors (formerly CDA) from March 1977.

With about 40 completely knocked-down kits (aside from the engine) assembled each month, the East London plant was eventually acquired by Daimler-Benz A.G. in 1984. These right-hand-drive cars are identifiable by the sixth and seventh digit of their VIN stamps.

Incidentally, the man in charge of the South African operation was Jürgen Schrempp, who subsequently became Daimler’s CEO and oversaw the disastrous acquisition of Mitsubishi and the even costlier ‘merger of equals’ with Chrysler.

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Hot Schu Shuffle

The ultimate R107 SL? Easy. That’ll be seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher’s old car, which featured the guts of AMG’s legendary 6.0-litre Hammer beneath its navy blue bodywork.

One of reputedly three such cars to have been built at Affalterbach, the 182kW 5.5-litre powerplant was ditched for a 246kW M117 V8, with drive being deployed via a rear limited-slip differential. This car sold in 2016 for 300,000 Euros. Probably worth a whole lot more now, having undergone a full restoration.