280 SL (177 PS)

STORY

SL stands for "Sport-Leicht", or sport light. The line began with racing intent before becoming the standard for the luxury roadster. Its founding car was the 1954 300 SL, whose road-going Gullwing had Bosch mechanical direct injection, one of the first series cars so equipped, followed by the open Roadster.

From there the SL grew more and more refined. The 1960s "Pagoda", named for its slightly dished hardtop, moved the car toward elegance and everyday usability. The R107 that followed sold for eighteen years, the longest run of any SL, and became a familiar sight on sunny boulevards worldwide. The technically ambitious R129 of 1989 added a V12, a pop-up rollbar and a set of airbags.

Two seats, a folding roof and effortless grand-touring pace: the SL has defined open-top Mercedes luxury for seventy years.