In February 1954, when Mercedes-Benz launched the legendary 300SL at the New York Auto Show, the new gull-winged supercar was flanked by a cute little drop-top companion. It was still a prototype, but within a year, the 190SL entered production. It was certainly made to look like the 300SL’s little cousin, but the similarities sort of ended there, skin-deep. Not that this was a bad thing.
The genesis of the 190SL was due, in large part, to Mercedes-Benz’s American importer, Max Hoffman – one of the most influential salesmen in automotive history. He was the driving force behind both the 300SL and the 190SL, but also the Porsche 356 Speedster, the BMW 507 and 2002, the Alfa Giulietta Spider and several smaller-run specials or one-offs on a variety of European chassis. The automotive world owes him a pretty substantial debt of gratitude, frankly.
Not that Mercedes-Benz were eternally grateful to the famous importer: by 1957, when our feature car was made, the German carmaker left Hoffman’s shop and signed a distribution deal with Studebaker-Packard. Nothing personal – just business.
Let’s go back to the beginning of the 190SL story proper. The prototype shown in early 1954 was deemed close enough to production-ready that M-B went to the trouble of printing a brochure. The 300SL was actually more mature and was produced first, leading Mercedes designers to revise the 190SL quite extensively before its real launch at the Geneva Motor Show in early 1955. For a thoroughly complete and lavishly illustrated account of this early period in the 190SL’s run, do please read Prof. Don Andreina’s essential post – there is nothing better out there.
They even translated that prototype brochure into English, apparently. Interesting to see the “racing” variant of the 190SL here. The baby SL was not reputed to be very Sport nor all that Leicht: it weighed close to 1200kg in standard trim – rather heavy for the “lively” 125hp gross (105hp DIN) under the hood. Perhaps the weight saved by the stripped-down version might enable a 190SL to reach the top speed claimed by this brochure?
It’s likelier that the initial brochure was a little over-ambitious with the V-max – this 1957 excerpt has a much more realistic (and somewhat vague) 170-180 kph number. The OHC straight-4 was a perfectly capable and very sturdy unit, but it was no Alfa twin cam. Nor did it ever claim to be. The whole point of the 190SL was to be an extremely well-built and reliable touring car, not a Mille Miglia contender, factory stripped-down “racing” version notwithstanding.
The confusion is related to the styling, more than anything. Because it looked like a 300SL, some folks might have been under the impression that it would behave like one. But the 300SL had a fuel-injected 3-litre 6-cyl. with twice the power of the 190SL’s engine. The two cars shared a certain aesthetic, a badge and a couple of letters, but little else.
And the aesthetic element is not uniform. For instance, from this angle, the 190SL looks like its own thing. Those small taillights, borrowed from the Pontoon saloon, and those muscly rear fenders are very 190SL. The 300’s more rounded butt, fully integrated fenders and low horizontal lights look nothing like this.
Inside though, the 190SL is a complete copycat of its big sister. No complaints there – everything in here is simply sublime. And labelled… Just one thing: why some people want A/C in a convertible will always baffle me. Yes, Tokyo summers are horribly hot and steamy, but why bother with adding air-con to a ‘50s convertible that was never designed for it in the first place? Just drive something else for three months. You can probably afford to if you have an SL.
Just over 25,000 of these beautiful cars were made until late 1962, with sales carrying on till the first half of 1963. Mercedes replaced both this and the 300SL by the Pagoda, so the 4-cyl. SL seemed to have been a short-lived experiment. However, the memory of the baby SL endured and was revived in the mid-‘90s with the SLK roadsters, reintroducing the smaller 4-cyl. drop-top concept to the range. Incidentally, the first SLK (the R170) featured the same 240cm wheelbase as the 190SL.
The idea of having two SLs made a lot of sense at the time, as it does nowadays. Perhaps Mercedes should have stuck with it, instead of forgetting about it for 30-plus years.
The 190SL will always play second fiddle to the mighty Gullwing. But when said fiddles are a pair of genuine Stradivarius, the term ceases to feel somewhat less than complimentary. Only in Mercedes-Benz’s range would the 190SL not been the range-topping halo car everyone yearned for.
Related posts:
Curbside Classic/Design History: Mercedes-Benz 190SL (W121) – Basking in the Glow of an Extremely Bright Halo, by Don Andreina
Vintage SCI Review: 1957 Mercedes 190SL – “A Sense of Security and Perfection”, by PN
Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: Mercedes 190 SL – A Gallery Of Seduction, by PN
Curtis Perry Outtake: Mercedes 190SL – Pretty in San Francisco, by PN
why some people want A/C in a convertible will always baffle me.
It’s answered by what baffles me–why do so many convertibles have dark seats? Ouch!
” … why do so many convertibles have dark seats? ”
The easiest way to combine, the easiest way to maintain.
The desire for a/c in such a convergent circumstance of car and climate is entirely dependent upon one’s tolerance of heat. As I am one who is in the category of those who would only buy, say, so much as a push-lawnmower if it were fitted-out thus, or, put another way, would not even consider any pushbike not so equipped, I am in no way baffled by the actions of this old German’s current custodian. (For the avoidance of doubt, my order for an air-conditioned pushbike languishes in development yet, but I am a patient, if sweaty, man).
If, however, I were that custodian, I would have spent at least part of what I clearly have on account – my very purchase of such a conveyance indicating that it is highly unlikely that such account has been by that purchase drained – some extra upon a system that was integrated to the point of being utterly hidden, as, I seem to recall, Our Correspondent In Tokyo displayed to us at one point a year or two back, inside a very nice Porsche 912. That, THAT, was a cool car made cooler by cooling, in about the same inverse proportion that this Mercedes was made less cool by being cooled thus.
Why A/C in a convertible? For those hot summer days when you get a mid-afternoon rainstorm while you’re out driving. I certainly appreciated it either in my Pontiac Solstice or Fiat 500c Abarth, as it was a lot easier than stopping the motorcycle and putting on the rain gear.
Unfortunately, for the above cars, motorcycles were still more enjoyable in about every other situation. Thus endeth my attempt to find a four wheeled alternative. Back to the bikes.
One finds a fine car not usually seen, one takes care to preserve the moment and then takes hours to prepare a presentation for others to delight in the same sighting, one then decides to include one simple random throwaway comment…and then that becomes the focus of the first four commenters, i.e. something completely irrelevant to the spectacular find itself. Such is the life of an auto writer.
But in short, since convertibles are hedonistic vehicles by their very nature, using AC in them while the top is down is just an extra level of hedonism. “Because you can.” When stuck in traffic with no natural airflow the sun can get uncomfortably hot, a decent A/C system is remarkably refreshing with the top down in such cases. After all, convertibles were meant to be driven top down. Cooled seats would surely be included in this one as well were it of far more recent vintage.
But beyond that, it’s just fun and another way to irk others such as when a child runs outside in the hot summer and leaves the door open in an air conditioned house or in the winter when the same child runs outside to the snow while leaving the same door open as the furnace is working hard to keep the house warm…
PS: Beautiful car, great pictures, excellent presentation and explanations, yada yada yada.
I often drive with the windows open and the ac on when it’s hot here. It’s the perfect compromise, as I prefer the windows open unless I’m on a long freeway trip.
I’d often do the opposite as well on a cold and even a drizzly day, i.e. open the sunroof in the GTI or have the top down in the Miata and run the heater, great fun driving up Hwy 1 between Santa Cruz and SF or similar back when I was there.
I thought I was the only one in the world who does that – good to know there’s others.
Here in the UK, it’s obligatory! We have crisp, bright mornings in the winter. Sometimes.
Have been stood in traffic in the S2000 with a/c on, on a blistering day. But its main advantage is rapidly de-fogging windows – useful in a tight interior space, especially if the interior is wet…
I didn’t get a/c in a roadster either, until I tried it.
Kudos to the well-preserved 190SL – over here, they were notorious rust-buckets. M-B roadsters tended to be, but they got better..
“PS: Beautiful car, great pictures, excellent presentation and explanations, yada yada yada.”
Being amongst the four thus impugned by the correspondent from Colorado, I feel it proper to state that a critic might also be expected to assume that exhortations of the type that the critic has expressed, albeit in his case only post post, are always implied from multitudinous prior examples of the same type, over many years, by at least this one amongst the four so far accused.
But lest there be doubt, I shall here relieve same by repeating all of the sentiments in the abovenamed Coloradian’s, namely those expressed after “PS”.
PS: Say, the aircon on that 190SL’s a carbuncle, ain’t it folks?
Max Hoffman was a sales/marketing genius. No matter how much praise has been heaped upon him for his brilliance at sales and marketing of European cars in the US, it can never be enough. I would like to read his biography. Has anyone read it?
As for why this car exists (and why A/C could be installed), it’s pure Hoffman. It exists because Hoffman thought it would sell, and as usual, he was right.
When the 190SL was shown in 1955 I was twelve years of age. It bespeaks elegant design. Is it practical? Only if you are single and picking up chicks. Is it gorgeous? YOU BET!