This Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing & Roadster got away, but there are more like it here.

1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster w/ Factory Rudge Wheel Option

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Sold for $1,801,000 on 1/26/22

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1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster w/ Factory Rudge Wheel Option

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This 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL is one of 1,858 roadsters manufactured during a six-year production run and is one of 554 first-year examples built. Chassis 00211 was originally ordered for dispatch to Cuba and left the Stuttgart factory on August 30, 1957, finished in Silbergrau over red leather with options including Rudge knock-off wheels, fitted luggage, and a Becker radio. After its first three known ownerships in Michigan, the car spent time under the stewardship of 300SL historian Frank Spellman before undergoing a refurbishment in the 1990s. It was then purchased in 1995 by California software mogul Frank W. Pritt, with whom it remained for 20 years. The car retains its numbers-matching 3.0-liter M198 inline-six with Bosch direct fuel injection as well as its original rear end and front axles and its factory-specified combination of paint and upholstery colors, Rudge wheels, and a black soft top. Additional equipment includes a four-speed manual transmission, four-wheel independent suspension with a low-pivot rear swing axle, servo-assisted hydraulic drum brakes, and a Becker Mexico radio. Acquired by the selling dealer in 2021 following a mechanical freshening, this W198 is now offered in Scottsdale, Arizona, with a copy of its factory delivery note, invoices dating back to 2003, a two-piece leather-wrapped luggage set, a tool kit, and a clean Montana title.

The roadster version of the 300SL was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1957 and entered production that May as the final Gullwing coupes were leaving the factory. The convertible’s construction incorporated a reconfigured version of the coupe’s tubular space frame with lower sill trusses to accommodate conventional front-hinged doors and a modified rear design adding usable trunk space. Like the coupe, the roadster utilized steel bodywork with aluminum panels for the hood, trunk lid, door skins, sills, floors, and firewall.

This example retains its factory shade of Silver Grey Metallic (180) with a black convertible top that stows under a body-color aluminum tonneau. Features include louvered fenders with bright trim extended to the doors, pivot-out door handles, North American-specification headlights, a Talbot side mirror, bumper overriders at front and rear, and early-style wide rocker panel end flanges.

The 15” Rudge wheels feature body-color centers, polished rims, and two-eared knockoffs, and September 1957 date code stampings can be viewed in the gallery. Fewer than 30 roadsters are said to have been outfitted from the factory with Rudge wheels, which were offered only in the model’s first year of production and measured 5.5” in width as opposed to the 5”-wide wheels manufactured for Gullwings. Michelin XWX tires are mounted all around, as well as on a 15×5” Rudge spare secured inside the trunk.

The cockpit is trimmed in red leather (1079) over the bucket seats, door panels, dash, center tunnel, sills, and top cover. Matching square-weave carpeting lines the floors, rear package shelf, and outer backrests as well as the trunk. Features include roll-up windows, red lap belts, a locking glovebox, an ivory-color shift knob, and a Becker Mexico AM/FM radio.

Framed by an ivory-color steering wheel, VDO instrumentation includes a 180-mph speedometer and a tachometer flanking a rectangular combination gauge monitoring coolant and oil temperature, oil pressure, and fuel level. The five-digit odometer shows 46k miles, approximately 100 of which were added by the selling dealer. True mileage is unknown.

The roadster model’s 3.0-liter M198 inline-six was carried over from the 300SL coupe and shared its canted orientation, aluminum cylinder head, Bosch mechanical direct fuel injection, and dry-sump lubrication. The injection pump was rebuilt in 2017 during service by Hjeltness Restoration, which also included a rebuild of the radiator. A mechanical refurbishment performed in 2020 by Steve Marx in Cosa Mesa, California, included a freshening of the distributor, repairs to the auxiliary fuel pump wiring and fuel tank pickup tube, installation of a new fuel tank check valve, a timing adjustment, and replacement of the fuel filter and tank screen. The engine oil, injection pump oil, transmission fluid, and coolant were also changed at that time.

Power is sent to the rear wheels through an all-synchromesh four-speed manual transmission and a 3.64:1 differential. The 300SL retained four-wheel independent suspension in roadster form, although its rear swing axle was redesigned with a single lower pivot point for improved stability. A 2020 refresh of the rear axle included replacement of the differential mounts, pinion seal, inner and outer axle seals, and right rear trailing arm bushings. The servo-assisted hydraulic brake system was also overhauled in 2020, with work including installation of a rebuilt booster and master cylinder, rebuilds of the stainless steel wheel cylinders, replacement of the hoses and self-adjustment friction discs, and repairs and corrections to various pieces of hardware. The driveshaft was rebuilt and repainted in 2017.

Number 198.980.7500240 is shown stamped on the engine block and matches the engine number listed on the delivery note. Additional stampings shown in the gallery below include gearbox number 002882, differential number 7500216, and front axle number 7500234 stamped on both the left and right front uprights. Also shown in the gallery is the chassis number stamped on the frame, frame tag, and firewall tag, as well as body number 7500139 stamped on the firewall and karosserie tag. The differential, front axle, and body numbers all match the corresponding numbers provided on the delivery note.

A two-piece reproduction luggage set wrapped in red leather and lined in plaid cloth was crafted in 2017, and a matching pouch for the knock-off hammer was made in 2016. A tool kit in a red leather roll is also included in the sale. Invoices from 2016 to 2020 are shown in the gallery below, as are receipts from work in 2004 and 2006.

The lieferschein lists the original colors, component numbers, and optional equipment including a Becker Le Mans radio, a Reims shortwave adapter, a two-piece luggage set in red leather, disc wheels with Rudge hubs and a copper knock-off hammer, and five Conti tires mounted. In addition to the options, information on the delivery note includes the following:

Order number: 854 531
Type and construction: 300 SL Roadster
Model: 198042
Paint: DB 180 silbergrau-met. (Silver Gray Metallic)
Upholstery: 1079 leder rot (Red leather interior)
Soft top: 872 schwarz (Black)
Chassis number: 198042-7500211
Engine number: 198980-7500240
Body number: A 198042-7500139
Delivery day: August 30, 1957
Mileage when shipped: 96
Gearbox number: 256
Front left axle number: 234
Front right axle number: 234
Rear axle number: 216
Steering box number: 240

Filed under: sl, w198

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Auction Result

Winning Bid	USD $1,801,000 by Niederwalluf
Auction Ended	January 26, 2022 at 11:05AM PT
Bids	42

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