In the upper-class sports car world, you don’t get much classier than the 1967 Mercedes 250 SL. Sitting in the middle of the 230 SL and 280 SL, the 250 SL is the rarest of the W113 series Mercedes.
By the time the first 250 SL was introduced at the 1967 Geneva Motor Show, production had already started for the Mercedes. Ending in January of 1968, the short one-year production run makes the 250 SL the rarest of the W113 series cars. The 250 SL kept the same stiffer suspension and sportier look and vibe of the early SLs, but introduced a new engine and rear disc brakes for improved driving characteristics.
Safety Innovations
Pushing everything to the luxury limited is what Mercedes has always been for, but they have also been about safety. Mercedes used this 250 SL to introduce the first sports car with a “safety body” with crumple zones and impact-absorbing front and rear sections built into the vehicle’s structure. The interior was “rounded” with all hard corners and edges removed. Other safety improvements included a collapsible steering wheel and padded wheel hub, concave control knobs, elastic black rubber heater levers (instead of rigid colored translucent plastic), and softer, rounded dash top padding.
Fun and Safe to Drive
With the more powerful engine, the 250 SL came with lightweight components, a better suspension, a lower center of gravity, four-wheel powerful disc brakes, and a set of radial tires for superb handling capabilities. The W113 SL was developed under the watchful eye of Technical Director Fritz Nallinger, Chief Engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut, Chief Engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut, and Head of Styling Friedrich Geiger. The sightly concave hardtop inspired the “Pagoda” nickname that was patented by lead designers Paul Bracq and Béla Barényi.
Mercedes Interior
The 1967 250 SL interior took more homage to the 230 SL interior with more classic chrome material. The 1968 250 SL interior took on more of the 280 SL look. Door handles, locks, and window cranks were modernized and less protruding, the door pockets were elastic, the rear-view mirror frame was black plastic instead of chrome, and the side view mirrors became more angular.
Still, regardless of the year, you received everything you would expect when sitting in a Mercedes. Supportive comfortable seats were accompanied by plenty of plush leather material. The driver received big easy to read gauges, a Blaupunkt radio to jam to, and just up-scale quality material throughout the whole cabin.
If there were any questions about the popularity of the 250 SL in America, almost a third of all Mercedes 250 SL W113 series were sold in the U.S. The beautiful easy to use Pagoda convertible top alone is enough to want to get in this car on a sunny day and go for a top-down cruise.
