The Mercedes-Benz SL-Class was introduced to the world in 1954 with the groundbreaking 300sl gullwing. It was based on the company’s endurance race car, the W194, and shared much of its racing pedigree. Thus, the Gullwing was the fastest production car of its time, with an incredible 263 km/h (163 mph) top speed, thanks to a great sounding 3-litre straight-6.
A couple decades later and the SL wasn’t the sports car it used to be. The R107 came out in 1971, and it wasn’t trying to be a road-legal race car anymore. Jason Cammisa and Derek Tam-Scott made a very good video about that, and I agree with them: the SL forgot its roots. It’s not a sports car, it’s not light like the SL name indicates, but instead, it became a fantastic Grand Tourer. During the R107s production, Mercedes wasn’t advertising the SL as a road-legal race car anymore, but as a “coupe roadster”.

In 1988 my grandfather bought this exact 300sl. He added a custom licence plate with his initials: 6RK. After his death, my father inherited it. Having it in our family since the age of 8, is one of the main reasons I’m a car-guy. (Alongside the movie “Cars” and a PS2 game called “Paris-Marseille”.) I had the pleasure of driving this car for the first time on my 18th birthday, on a beautiful highway in the canyons of southern California.
I had a blast. Besides the emotional attachment to this car, I genuinely think this is a fantastic automobile. It feels predictable in the corners and it wants you to power out the apex. The rear-end squats when applying heavy throttle, which makes you feel faster than you actually are. I haven’t driven its V8 counterparts, but I have been told that because the 300sl has a straight 6 it’s not as nose-heavy, and thanks to that, handles better.

The soundtrack is as melodic as a Pink Floyd song. Mercedes did a fantastic job finding the perfect balance; it’s not annoyingly loud, so to fit its luxurious standard, but loud enough to please the car-guys ears.
I feel the same way about the sound as I do about the looks. It’s a fantastic car to stare at, a perfect balance of sport, luxury, and elegance.

My father used to take my little sister and I on road trips in this car. Every summer we’d drive from the French Alps to the south of France, going through Italy. The 300sl would cruise at modern highway speeds for hours, providing us with a pristine level of comfort. I read a review of this car from an old magazine published in 1985, and I think the man who wrote the article explained the ride quality beautifully. He said: “It’s so smooth, I had to question whether or not the wheels were actually touching the road”.
And that’s exactly how it feels, it’s so smooth it might as well be flying.

At the end of the day, it’s my grandpa’s car. The car my dad, my sister and I used to road trip to the south of France every summer with. The car I had on my phone’s wallpaper when I was a teenager. I’m biased, but when it comes down to this question: is the R107 Mercedes a good GT? Well, yes. This is a fantastic example of a perfect Grand Tourer, and the world should know.

Max,