The Mercedes-Benz 190 SL has enormous appeal for many classic enthusiasts. It doesn’t even have to be a super special story. As with this copy, which will be auctioned soon.
The 190 SL in question is not a special version, not of a famous person and not necessarily more historically relevant than other 190 SLs. No, this is just a stunning specimen. Okay, one thing is still a little bit special: it is number 729 out of almost 26,000 ever built. So it is very early, from 1955, the first year that the beautiful convertible was built.
The 190 SL is of course the slightly simpler open brother of the 300 SL, the Gullwing, and as the name implies, the motor is considerably less fortunate. The 190 SL has a 105 hp 1.9 four-cylinder in the nose and therefore had to be a lot more affordable and therefore more accessible to the general public. At the same time, it has comparable, for that time, very modern technology as the 300 SL, such as the independent suspension and double wishbones.
The 190 SL was the SL for the ‘mass’. There are therefore considerably more made than of the 300 SL. Of the 300 SL, only 3,258 were produced, 1,858 of which were Roadsters. In terms of prices, you do not have to think about the huge amounts (sometimes several millions) that are deposited for 300 SLs with the 190 SL. This 190 SL is by no means cheap, however auction house estimates the Mercedes restored in 2012 at a value of between € 175,000 and € 220,000. The hammer falls on July 30, currently the highest bid is € 137,000.