Скачать или смотреть 1961 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster w198 II masterpiece

At the Geneva Motor Show in March 1957, Mercedes-Benz presented the roadster version of the 300 SL as the successor of the Gullwing coupé. From the start, Maximilian E. Hoffman had asked for this vehicle for the US market, since he saw greater chances for an open car there than for a coupé. Technically speaking, the Roadster was broadly similar to the coupé: modification to the side sections of the tubular space frame made it possible to reduce the sill height enough to accommodate normal doors. A fundamental improvement: the rear-axle suspension. The single-joint low-pivot swing axle – familiar from the 220 W – was installed in the 300 SL Roadster in an adapted form, being equipped for the first time with a compensating spring. This greatly improved the handling characteristics over those of the original swing axle of the Gullwing coupé. Production of the 300 SL ended concurrently with the end of production of the 190 SL on 8 February 1963 in Sindelfingen, a date that marks the close of an era: after the production of the 300 models ended in March 1962, only the 300 SL had remained as the last passenger car model with a separate frame in Mercedes-Benz’s production program. Both versions of the 300 SL, Roadster, and Gullwing coupé were right from the very beginning enthusiasts’ cars that have lost nothing of their allure to this day, for many years they have been among the most sought-after and valued classics.

#w198 #300slroadster #classicmercedes #oldbenz
source: BRABUS Classic