Mercedes-Benz 300 SL

Depending on final-drive ratio, Mercedes-Benz quoted a top speed of up to about 250 km/h for the 300 SL, exceptional for a mid-1950s production car.

The production 300 SL's three-litre inline-six produced 158 kW, or 215 PS, at 5,800 rpm.

According to Mercedes-Benz, the 300 SL W 198 was the first production passenger car with a four-stroke petrol engine using direct fuel injection.

The characteristic upward-opening doors were not merely a styling device: the high sills of the tubular spaceframe prevented the use of conventional large side doors.

In 1999 a jury of motoring journalists named the 300 SL Gullwing the Sports Car of the Century.

Of the 1,400 300 SL coupés, 29 were built in a particularly lightweight specification with aluminium bodywork.

Mercedes-Benz built 1,400 examples of the 300 SL Coupé W 198 between 1954 and 1957.

The production Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupé W 198 made its world premiere at the International Motor Sports Show in New York in February 1954.

Road-going 300 SL Gullwings achieved a triple class victory in the 1955 Mille Miglia.

The road-going 300 SL W 198 was directly derived from the W 194 racing 300 SL with which Mercedes-Benz returned to international competition in 1952.