The R107 Mercedes SL of the 1980s is one of the most popular classic grand tourers around, thanks to that appealing combination of luxury and power, blended with the solidity and durability for which Mercedes of the 1980s are famous, and which ensures a large number are still on the road.
The crisp styling, clearly evolved from the Pagoda SLs of the 1960s, looks as good today as it did when new, and we can think of barely any way in which the R107s might be considered dated, even though they entered production in 1971 and were last built in 1989.
This 420SL has almost all the trimmings you would expect in a modern luxury grand tourer and drives like a modern car, too.
Although it’s not necessarily hard to find a nice R107, since they were so popular in period that over 237,000 were built, you’ll struggle to find another one like this.
For one thing, it’s a 420SL with the 4.2-litre V8, of which only 2148 were made and, for another, it’s evidently been cherished by every owner it’s ever had, which is why it’s one of the best all-original examples we’ve ever seen.
Sold new through the Cambridge Mercedes-Benz dealership Maloney & Rhodes to Richard Daniels Homes Ltd in Clifton, Bedfordshire
Privately registered to a member of the Daniels family in 1992 and retained until 1999
The new owner was a local optometrist who cherished it until he sold it to its most recent private owner in 2015
The paperwork includes the most recent V5 plus some historic examples, a collection of MoT certificates and a sizeable pile of invoices
The original Maloney & Rhodes wallet is in good condition and contains all the original owner’s literature, including the Owner’s Manual, Maintenance Booklet and instruction manual for the Blaupunkt radio cassette player
The Maintenance Booklet contains a record of services completed between 1988 and 2008
Several historic photographs of the car are also provided, dating, we believe, from its acquisition by Mr. Stephen Hing in 1999
Supplied with its original radio cassette player and a more modern radio CD player
It is not often one comes across a 34-year-old interior which looks, we would say, no more than five years old.
This car really has been looked after extremely well and it shows in its condition. The leather of the seats has mellowed only very slightly and feels to us as supple as it must have been when new.
It has never been re-Connolised and it really does seem to be noticeably softer and that little bit more sumptuous than leathers which have received some restoration work.
The carpets are all extremely clean and the dash, doors and centre console are superb. We can only suppose that this car has been garaged all its life, since it does not appear to have suffered any of the effects of either damp or strong sunshine. The rich walnut of the centre console retains a beautifully deep shine and it’s condition, like that of the whole interior, is so hard to fault.
At 30 years old, most interiors will have something which constitutes patina, but it doesn’t seem to be the case with this one. If you look really, really closely, you may just find a small mark in the leather or the vinyl of the doors somewhere, but we really struggled.
Let us just say that if there is any cosmetic wear, it has been kept to the absolute minimum.
Even the boot, which could be forgiven for being slightly battered, is much like new. The carpet is in almost unbelievably good condition and is still soft to the touch. Underneath is an excellent spare wheel, wrapped in a brand-new Continental tyre.
The original Blaupunkt radio cassette player is one of the few things about the SL which may be considered dated today, so a more modern unit with CD player has been installed but the original radio has still been retained and in wonderful condition.
We wouldn’t be surprised if it still works and would be tempted to refit it for the sake of absolute correctness. Besides, they say cassettes are making a comeback…
Convertible roof in excellent condition but optional hardtop is included
Wonderful chrome and brightwork
That lovely, warm sort of silver is the car’s original paint but it’s very hard to find signs that it’s been on the car for over 30 years. It is almost entirely bereft of scratches or other blemishes and what few blemishes are there are generally in places where they are not readily visible.
All the faults we could see were extremely small and confined mainly to the front and rear valances, where the paint has started to crack. There is also a small area where the nearside front wheel arch meets the sill where some paint has flaked away, but that appears to be the full extent of it.
All the brightwork on the car is exceptional. It is not quite as-new, but it is so very close. All the glass on the car is in excellent condition and the folding soft-top has just a few very small marks at its base.
As you’d expect, the hardtop is in exactly the same excellent order as the rest of the car. There are some small splits in the plastic on the front bumper, but that seems to be almost unavoidable by the time it gets to a certain age.
With potholes, puddles and kerbs menacing them all the time, wheels are sometimes the part of a car’s exterior which suffer most, but not these ones. There are just some very small, almost imperceptible marks on the surface, and one sports a little bit of cosmetic damage near the rim where the powder-coating has chipped away.
The rims have managed to survive almost completely unscuffed. Best of all is that the wheels all sport four brand-new Continental tyres.
One of only 2168 SLs fitted with the 215bhp 4.2-litre V8
Last MoTed in 2021 with no advisories
At 4.2-litres, this SL’s engine is a large and powerful one, but also ever so quiet and civilised. It had an official top speed of 130 mph but also fuel consumption estimate of 18.2mpg, which is genuinely impressive for an engine of that size.
It fires up on command and, with its automatic gearbox, pulls away with absolutely no effort. It has power steering, of course, and strong brakes. Frankly, we doubt there’s a more agreeable car to drive.
It has been serviced regularly throughout its life and has received its share of expenditure as and when necessary, which has kept it in such fine condition. One of the few deviations from originality is the stainless steel exhaust, which was fitted in 2005 and should easily last a lifetime.
The whole engine bay is wonderfully clean, but we are assured by the vendor that it has never been detailed.
Although the car doesn’t have an MoT at present, its last one only expired in February and it passed its test in 2021 with no advisory points, so we are sure that if it were presented for a test tomorrow it would sail through with no problems.HSeTkbhibtWHbi7PUQv7olsGEH2PGS7laA2jrpZW.jpeg800.46 KB
The Summary
There are other SLs out there, but scarcely any like this. Not only is it one of the rarest models, it is also one of the very best examples of any kind to be found. It is so, so hard to find fault with this car and so small are the ones that do exist that they ought not to trouble you, much less anyone else.
Speaking of other people, this is a car which will get you noticed for the right reasons. At our photoshoot, it drew a number of comments from passers-by, all of them highly complimentary.
Going on the basis that seemingly everyone who stopped to talk wanted to know if the Mercedes was for sale, we suspect interest in these cars is really on the up, so it should be a very safe investment.
But until the time comes that you want to move it on again, what could be a nicer car for swanning lazily around in?
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