1971 | Mercedes-Benz 280 SL

A superb Mercedes 280 SL 'Pagoda' Cabriolet from 1971, restored by Mercedes specialist in Germany.

Fantastic in 'Mittelblau Metallic' with a blue interior. Superb condition! Restored by Wallner Classic and comes with a big documentation file including pictures and invoices. This 280 SL features a factory 'Tauschmotor'. Comes with EEC papers.

Price Euro 149.000,-.

Please ask for more information or more pictures as required.

Very Superior Old Cars is a classic sportscar consultancy company founded in 1992. We work for our customers to assist with all aspects of their car interests. From acquisition consultancy with restoration advice and management to private sales in our boutique art gallery.

VSOC is centrally located between Amsterdam and The Hague, only 17 km (11 miles) from Schiphol Airport. There is a broad selection of classic sports cars on display, in very good or excellent condition, varying from beautiful yet affordable sports cars to rare and valuable collectors’ items. When you intend to visit us in The Netherlands, we would advise you to make an appointment so that we can give you some quality time. If you arrive by plane or train, we would be happy to pick you up at the airport or train station. Besides Dutch we speak English, German, French and Italian.

Model History

Two evocative initials, SL (for SuperLeicht or Super Light), have become inextricably associated with Mercedes-Benz, defining a successful Line of desirable sports cars that continues to this day.

Launched at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1963, the 230SL - or W113 in Daimler-Benz language - was a very different sort of sporting car from its fire-breathing predecessors. Based on the 220SE saloon, it was sleek and smooth but the body in contrast to the earlier cars, was no longer curved. Many of the car’s distinctive features, including the design of the roof (which instantly earned the car its ‘ Pagoda’ nickname), were the work of Béla Barényi, who was in charge of Daimler-Benz’s predevelopment department. Designed to withstand a loading of 1000 kg, the Pagoda hard-top was the result of Barényi’ s research into primary and secondary safety.

The Mercedes Benz 280 SL featured a manual 4-speed gearbox as standard and an optional 4-speed automatic gearbox. From May 1966 the Pagoda also had the option of a ZF 5-speed manual gearbox (these were extremely rare). The 4-speed automatic gearbox has the same cast iron casing as the manual version, but featured a fluid flywheel rather than a torque converter and is fitted with two sets of planetary gears, three clutches and three brake bands, the clutches and brake bands being contained within the clutch bell housing. Although made of alloy, the clutch bell housing is a different shape from the one fitted to the manual gearboxes. When the shift lever is placed in drive ‘2’ or the kick down facility is used, bottom gear is automatically selected but the car otherwise pulls away from rest in the second ratio. The automatic gearbox weighs 13.6 kg more than the manual unit.