This 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL is one of 1,400 Gullwing coupes built during three years of production and is said to have been completed in September 1955 for delivery in the US via New York. In 1978, chassis 5500733 was sold by an Arizona owner to a California collector who retained it for over four decades, with work during that span including a color change to silver and 2007 overhauls of the 3.0-liter M198 inline-six and the replacement four-speed manual transmission. The car was purchased by its current owner approximately a year ago and subsequently underwent a refresh that included a repaint in its original shade of white. Additional features include Bosch direct fuel injection, dry-sump lubrication, servo-assisted hydraulic drum brakes, four-wheel independent suspension with a rear swing axle, red plaid interior upholstery, and a Blaupunkt radio. This W198 Gullwing is now offered on dealer consignment in Austin, Texas, with a copy of its Gullwing Register entry, invoices dating back to 2007, and a clean California title.
Development of the 300SL was spurred by US importer Max Hoffman’s suggestion that Mercedes produce a sports car appealing to the American market. The model inherited several design elements from the company’s W194 sports racers, including upward-opening doors made necessary by a high-silled lightweight tubular space frame. Introduced at the 1954 International Motor Sports Show in New York, the production version of the 300SL utilized steel bodywork with aluminum panels for the hood, trunk lid, door skins, rocker panels, and floorboards.
This example wore an older repaint in silver when purchased by its current owner before being stripped to bare metal and undergoing a repaint in 2024 in white (DB050), which is the car’s original color according to its Gullwing Register entry. The body seals were replaced during the project. Features include front and rear bumper guards, a driver-side Talbot mirror, pivot-out door handles, wheel-arch “eyebrows” without welting, and fender louvers with twin horizontal aluminum spears.
Body-color 15” wheels wear matching hubcaps and bright beauty rings and are wrapped in 185VR15 Michelin XVS tires showing 2024 date codes, as is a spare housed in the trunk. The servo-assisted hydraulic braking system utilizes aluminum-finned drums all around, with duplex actuation at each front wheel. The brake system is said to have been refreshed in 2007.
The cabin is trimmed in red leather with Ulster Tartan plaid cloth over the seat cushions. Additional features include red carpeting, a dash-mounted rearview mirror, an ivory-color shift knob, and a Blaupunkt radio.
The two-spoke, ivory-color steering wheel can be pivoted downward at its hub to facilitate entry and exit for the driver. A body-color dash fascia hosts VDO instrumentation including a 160-mph speedometer, a 7k-rpm tachometer, a windup clock, and gauges monitoring fuel level, oil pressure, coolant temperature, and oil temperature. The five-digit odometer shows 39k miles, approximately 23 of which have been added under current ownership.
Canted at an angle to allow a lower hoodline, the 3.0-liter M198 inline-six utilizes Bosch direct mechanical fuel injection and features dry-sump lubrication, an aluminum cylinder head mated to an angled block surface, a single overhead camshaft, and sodium-filled exhaust valves. Output was factory rated at 215 horsepower at 5,800 rpm. The engine is said to have been overhauled by Marx Mercedes Service in Costa Mesa, California, in 2007, at which time the injection pump was rebuilt. Results of a compression test performed in preparation for the sale can be viewed in the photo gallery below.
The all-synchromesh four-speed manual transmission is also said to have been overhauled during the 2007 mechanical freshening, which also included a clutch replacement. Four-wheel independent front suspension incorporates a double-wishbone front arrangement and a dual-joint rear swing axle, with both ends utilizing coil springs and hydraulic shock absorbers.
Images from the 2024 repaint are included in the gallery.
A Gullwing Register entry for the car lists information dated 1978, including the original colors and equipment numbers. Engine number 5500779 is shown stamped on the block and engine tag in the gallery, which also includes an image of the karosserie tag showing body number 5500712.
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