Dustin Troyan of Driven World Magazine knocked it out of the park (or rather the parking lot) when his 8th annual Motor4Toys show landed in the Blue Cross/Anthem parking lot in Woodland Hills this morning. As expected, the turnout was massive, with an amazing collection of cars ramdomly spilling over several parking lots throughout the morning.
The Mercedes-Benz 300SL was rather well represented at this year's gathering, but it struck me as odd that they were all gullwing coupes, with no roadsters showing up. Perhaps this reflects the collecting proclivities of the Southern California Mercedes-Benz community, or maybe it was just that all the roadster owners were out driving around, enjoying the amazing weather. 300SLs are beautiful cars in any configuration, and along with the Ferrari Testarosa 250, have to be regarded as one of the ultimate cars to add to your collection. The fact that the 300SL is still 'affordable' by a magnitude of an additional zero on its price makes it perhaps even a little more popular, not to mention adding to the odds of actually seeing one in person.
The car looks good in red, although even a red 300SL tends to get lost when seen amid the sea of Ferraris present at this sort of a GTG.
I don't know what the official name is for the color below, but it's probably more glamourous than "swamp", "murk" or "chocolate gray". It's a very distinguished color, and was part of the Checkered Flag 200 group from the Petersen Automotive Museum. This group consistently has some of my favorite cars on display.
A car as nice as this should probably come with a permit allowing it to park in a red zone anywhere:
The 300SL below looks like the sort of car you wouldn't be afraid of taking out for a drive. The rate of appreciation (talking dollars, not envy) of the gullwings over the past few years makes a Sunday jaunt somewhat daunting. (interesting piece here on driving a classic car)
The Mercedes Benz 300SL is a classic among classics, but all things being equal, I'd probably opt for the roadster over the gullwing. Even with the price differential between the two body styles seemingly narrowing by the month, the idea of having a car this functional and easy to drive has even more appeal when you can put the top down and fully realize the driving experience.
Lots more photos from Motor4Toys will be posted over the next couple of weeks...
These Mercedes Benz gullwings are rare enough, but seeing a flock of them in one spot is an awe-inspiring experience. Indeed, the 300SL looks majestic on the road, especially with its doors open like the wings of an albatross.
Posted by: Tari Ledsome | 13 December 2011 at 07:24 AM
Next to Lamborghini-style scissor doors, gullwing doors are probably the coolest automobile doors in existence. The Mercedes-Benz 300SL pioneered the gullwing, but other famous examples include Bricklin SV-1 from the 1970s, and the DeLorean DMC-12 of Back To The Future fame.
Posted by: Ellsworth Mciltrot | 14 December 2011 at 10:08 AM
That Mercedes is priceless! They are produced limited i think.
Posted by: vintage car restoration | 15 December 2011 at 09:17 PM