Mercedes-Benz 300SL
It's from 1954, before you were born.
- Iconic generation
- 1954 300SL 'Gullwing' (W198)
- Origin
- Stuttgart, Germany
- Engine
- 3.0L SOHC inline-six with Bosch mechanical fuel injection
- Power
- 215 hp
- Top speed
- ~160 mph (257 km/h)
- Production
- 1954–1957 — 1,400 coupes built
- Price when new
- ~29,000 Deutsche Marks (about $9,000 in the US)
- Claim to fame
- First production car with fuel injection; fastest of its day
About
As of 2026, it's 72 years old.
The 300SL Gullwing was an accident of genius. Mercedes built a tube-frame racing car so light and stiff that conventional doors wouldn't fit — the chassis ran too high along the sides. The fix? Hinge the doors at the roof so they swing upward like wings. A racing compromise became one of the most beautiful gestures in automotive design.
When a US importer convinced Mercedes to build a road-going version in 1954, it arrived as the fastest production car in the world. Its 3.0-liter straight-six wore mechanical fuel injection — a first for a production car — to make 215 horsepower and push the Gullwing past 160 mph at a time when most cars struggled to reach 100.
It was gorgeous, exotic, and genuinely tricky to drive fast — the swing-axle rear could bite the unwary — but none of that dented its allure. Movie stars and royalty lined up, and the Gullwing became the postwar emblem of glamour and speed, the car that announced Mercedes was back at the very top.
Only 1,400 coupes were built between 1954 and 1957, which is why a clean Gullwing today commands seven figures and a respectful hush wherever it parks. Open those doors in a crowded lot and watch every phone come out — sixty years on, it still stops the room cold.
Mercedes-Benz 300SL through the years
Racing roots
The W194 300SL racer wins Le Mans and the Carrera Panamericana, proving the concept.
Gullwing goes on sale
The road-going coupe debuts in New York as the fastest production car in the world.
Fuel injection first
Bosch mechanical direct injection makes the 300SL a technological landmark.
Roadster replaces it
An open Roadster with conventional doors succeeds the coupe, ending the Gullwing's run.
Just 1,400 made
Coupe production closes at 1,400 cars, sealing its status as an instant blue-chip classic.
