Description
For more images, video and to see what our expert technicians thought of this SLSHOP Assured car head to our website
PRINCIPAL FACTS
This superb low mileage and utterly original 300SL has to be one of the very best on sale. The car's been maintained meticulously from new, with an extensive set of invoices from within the Mercedes-Benz service network; including from its supplying Normand Mayfair dealership.
The car's condition inside and out speaks volumes regarding the level of care it's received since new in 1989. Tracking the car's miniscule mileage is easy as we've got all service documentation from new, including the supplying letter from sales manager A. R. Wrenn, confirming the car's options and attached order form from November 1988. Provenance just doesn't get any better than this.
OVERVIEW & EQUIPMENT
Already a relatively well-equipped car from the factory, this late R107's first owner (Mr Llambias) decided to add a few more comfort options, including Cream Beige leather seats (front and rear) plus air-conditioning. A black soft-top was also added, while a badge delete (since reinstated) rounded off options ticked.
The dealer added a few more toys, including a rear boot spoiler, Blaupunkt Toronto stereo (with quad speakers and an electric aerial) plus an ultrasonic alarm with remote to keep Mr Llambias' £21, 500 (with part-ex) investment secure.
You really can lose half a day delving through the history that accompanies this car, but there's plenty of time for that, more important is the way that this thing drives, which as we can testify to, is superbly. The car's interior and exterior actually call for the old 'time warp' cliché, this time true; this SL hasn't been restored, merely enjoyed sparingly and cared for fastidiously.
CONDITION SYNOPSIS
This R107 has been known to us for several years; we've had the pleasure of inspecting it and granting it one of our bulkhead guarantees; which remains in date until October this year (still looking fantastic). We also provided one of our 24-month 5000-mile warranties from 2020 to 2022, which goes to show how seriously former keepers took this car's care.
Paintwork and chromework still look as good as they would have in the early 1990s and panel gaps are as per the Mercedes-Benz quality controller signed-off in 1989. It seems almost sacrilegious to sit in this SL, with merely a tiny chip to the veneer on the centre console (just below the mirror adjuster) to remind you that this isn't a new car.
HISTORY FILE
There are several reasons to get excited by the paperwork that accompanies this three-owner car. Not only does it have all the original correspondence from its supplying dealer, but also a stack of on-going care from the same.
As part of that is a stack of London Mercedes-Benz dealership invoices from 1989 to 2015, when care passed to a number of big-name exotic and classic specialists. We were a part of that care from 2017, sharing servicing honours with North London based Hexagon Modern Classics, bringing care up to date.
Further back, but no less significant, are a pile of MoT certificates from 1992 to 2006, plus all the original owner's manuals inside the supplying Park Lane dealership leather wallet.
SLSHOP SUMMARY
There are surely few, if any, 300SLs out there as original, with fewer miles on the clock, than this one. The mileage might suggest it's sat unused - which we all know old cars don't suffer gladly - though this R107 seems to have enjoyed the ideal combination of sparing use with maintenance without hesitation. Its bulging history box file seems almost unbelievable for a car that's covered fewer than 30k miles in 34 years, but you'd better believe it, it's all here.
