ps374

OK,I am watching this old video with a 57 Corvette and a 300SL Gullwing coupe. It seems like the Corvette is keeping up with the Benz and trying to pass it but the BenZ is blocking it. So now I have to ask the experts. Was the 57 Corvette any match for the Mercedes 300 SL?

Avispa

The following is from Wikipedia:

"These successes, especially those on the high speed open road races, were rather surprising as the engine then was fitted only with carburetors, producing 175 hp (130 kW), which was not only less than the competing cars by Ferrari and Jaguar, but also less than the road car of 1954. Low weight and low aerodynamic drag made the 300SL fast enough to be competitive in endurance races."

I think the Rochester unit on the little Tonawanda 283 would kick the Merc's Kraut butt. But don't take my word for it. There is this from Corvette, Past, Present, Future (Editors of Consumer Guide -1982):

"Two production models finished 12th and 15th at Sebring 1957, the first GT-class cars across the line. The 12th place car ended up 20 laps ahead of the nearest Mercedes-Benz 300SL."

GCD1962

Keep in mind the Gullwing was light weight with an aluminum body. I would take a Gullwing over a '57 (or any C-1) any day of the week - one of the all time classic sports cars.

VetteRed1965

That would be a cool video.Any way to link it from you tube?

Dan Hampton

They ran a 3 liter, 225 hp engine but the key was the space age frame that ran under the car which made them very competitive in road racing. The weight was fairly high at around 2,900 and 2,500 with aluminum (30 built). Great fuel injection and four wheel independence helped in cornering. Reputedly, they could hit 160 mph but the road tests I have seen shows that they couldn't keep up with the Corvette in 0-60 or 1/4 times.

They are $500,000+ cars today and the roadsters have been commanding bigger dollars, in some cases, than the Gullwing coupe. They are fun cars to drive, as the windshield is narrow and after sliding over the gunwale or dropping your self down into the seat, it feel like the cockpit of a fighter airplane once you cinch yourself in.

rayvaflav

The 300SL...You can't go by photos, you have to see one in real life, up close and personally. The detail is superb and the styling timeless, so much so that Mercedes-Benz attempts to recreate this design over and over and it just can't be done. Gorgeous car. Nuff said.

Ray (it is true that I have an extremely German last name..)

Dan Hampton

No doubt about it. Probably the nicest designed two seater of all time. No styling like it before or after. One of a kind.

tapio

Ditto!

ejboyd5

Probably just chance, but there are some interesting threads about the 300SL on the NCRS site right now.

drlou

IMHO no more beautifully designed car ever manufactured. Always rued the day I passed up a nice one for 8 thou back in the late '70's. But I got my '67 after that so I can't complain.

rayvaflav

Check out the French movie from the '60's "The Elevator To The Gallows". There is a nice scene of a 300SL coupe at speed on a narrow European road.

Ray

YesA59

If you look at SCCA results for 1956 - 1957, here is what you find (more or less):

1. The 300LS and the 56-57 Corvettes ran in different classes. SCCA switched classes around during this time period. But generally, the Corvettes ran B Production while the 300SL's ran C Production (the post-1956 classifications).

2. The MBZ 300SL with a top-notch driver (like Settember or O'Shea) would beat the 56 Corvette with a top-notch driver (like the Flying Dentist). But it was close. I suspect the 300SL's had superior braking, and that was enough to win the head to head competition.

3. The 57 Corvette changed the order. Corvettes started beating the 300SLs. More powerful engines plus improved braking (with the big brake package) enabled the Corvettes to beat the 300SLs.

4. Eventually the 300SL could not compete with the Corvettes. Probably because the Corvettes still improved a bit, and had many good drivers. I suspect the top drivers moved away from the 300SL's and into other cars.

I'm sure that some of the old racing guys can do a much better job describing things.

Russ

YesA59

I started the thread on the NCRS forum. Since many CF'ers do not belong to the NCRS, I will repeat my post (with pics) here:

I love MBZ Gullwings. As much as Corvettes. Maybe more.

I walked into a local repair shop in my home town (Mill Valley, CA) one day a few years ago. I about fainted. The repair shop had 5 Gullwings in it. I gather some of them were being prepped for the Monterey hisotrics. Every now and then I take a peek inside the shop and see a Gullwing.

I attended the Marin-Sonoma Car Show earlier this year. A very nice Gullwing was there. Click here for about 20 pics.

Anybody know the going rate for Gullwings these days? Roadsters?

Russ

6T5C2

Thanks for sharing those pics - that car is absolutely amazing! Very rarely do you see any for sale

Dan Hampton

1956 was the last year for the Gullwing Coupe. Mercedes had withdrawn from racing after the disastrous wreck at Le Mans in '55 when Peter Levegh 300 SLR (probably THE most beautiful car of all time) crashed and killed 80 spectators, including himself. Mercedes, after the Targa Florio, retired from Factory racing after the '55 season.

The Corvette would have had a difficult time competing against SLR which has a body made out of a super light material (Elecktron). It was a Factory purebreed, through and through. As stunning a car as it gets.

Here is a link to some pics. A real beauty in coupe and open form.

http://www.conceptcarz.com/view/phot...SLR_photo.aspx

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...02780785oRFAee

zardun

Way back in time ('63 -'66) I was at Laguna Seca. They had the Gull Wing Club, and there lots of them, take 2 laps one w/ the doors closed and one w/ them open I think the 300SLR took a couple of laps as well.
Very impressive even if I can't remember the year.

ejboyd5

The 300SL Coupe (Gullwing) was produced from 1954 through 1957. 1400 cars were built of which 29 were equipped with an all alloy body as a weight saving measure (production cars had a steel body with alloy hood, doors, trunk lid and rocker panels). The Gull Wing Group was present in force at Laguna Seca in 1986 at which time Mercedes-Benz provided several of its race cars (including the 300SLR) and drivers Fangio, Moss and Fitch to promote the brand. It was a wonderful exercise in automotive history and well worth my trip from New York to participate. The 300SL Roadster (which was not called the 300SLR as some have done) was introduced in 1957. 1858 examples of the Roadster were produced between 1957 and 1963 when production was terminated in favor of the 230SL.

rayvaflav

My former boss purchased the Clark Gable owned 300SL coupe a few years back. Silver on red (as it should be) with Rudge knock-on wheels, belly pans and the coveted fitted luggage. I beleive that he paid somewhere in the mid-high $300's at the time and I don't think that a comparable coupe could be purchased for less than $500' now.

The 300SL roadsters are a wonderful complement to the coupe, continuing into production until 1961. The frame for the roadsters (or "vert", sorry) didn't require the high sill so entrance and egress were more simple, the tricky rear swing axle was improved and disc brakes all around. Plus the roadsters had the Euro-style combination headlamps that was not available on the coupe (love it or hate it styling for the headlamps). Have you ever seen one with the optional hardtop ? It is a great looking car with that top though dismissed by some of the European magazines at the time for becoming "too American". MBZ also produced a one-off hardtop for the roadster that had "gullwing" panels that lifted from the center when the door was opened, it was offered at the RM Sportscar Auction a few years back at the Monterey Historic week auction.

Ray

mashinter

October 1968 Road & Track did a road test of a well-maintained Gullwing.

300SL: 2960 curb, 16.0@89 mph 1/4 mile
'57 FI: 2985 curb, 14.3@94 mph 1/4 mile

Using a formula to calculate SAE net BHP at the clutch:

300SL: 170 BHP out of 183 cubic inches (.93 BHP/CID)
'57 FI: 200 BHP out of 283 cubic inches (.71 BHP/CID)

This seems to make sense based on racing results.

Both engines had a 6500 redline. A very impressive 3 liter 6 cylinder!

GCD1962

Growing up in Greenwich. Ct, when I was about 14 or 15, I saw a man at a gas station with a Gullwing and asked him for a ride, he said ok, but don't touch the Aluminum body. We rode around town and needless to say I was totally impressed and have always liked the style and ride of the car.