After the War Mercedes Benz needed to rebuilt their image and motorsport was and still is one of the most important image builders. Mercedes Benz however neither had
the means nor the capacity to built a Grand Prix racer and had to rely on what they had to built a sportscar. What they had was a 3 litre straight six engine from the 300 saloon
series, and they modified it and fitted it in a newly designed space frame. The space frame chassis was available with two body styles either a roadster or a coupe with gull-wing doors. The car was dubbed 300 SL and was launched in 1952.
It was raced very succesfully and scored victories in races like the Carrera Panamerica.
Technical Data:
Engine M198 Straight 6
Displacement 2.996 liter / 182.8 cu in
Power 215 bhp / 160 KW @ 5800 rpm
Top Speed 245 km/h / 152 mph