SL 500

STORY

SL stands for "Sport-Leicht", or sport light, and the lineage began with racing intent before evolving into the definitive luxury roadster. Its founding icon was the 1954 300 SL, whose road-going Gullwing carried Bosch mechanical direct injection, one of the first series cars so equipped, followed by the open Roadster.

From there the SL grew ever more refined. The 1960s "Pagoda", named for its subtly dished hardtop, realigned the car toward elegance and everyday usability. The R107 that followed sold for eighteen years, the longest run of any SL, and became a fixture of sun-drenched boulevards worldwide, while the technically ambitious R129 of 1989 added a V12, a pop-up rollbar and a suite of airbags.

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