Mercedes-Benz 300 SL — The Car of the Century

by Hans Kleissl and Harry Niemann

For over 60 years, no other car has moved the lovers of classic cars more than the 300 SL. For Daimler Benz AG, this car is an icon that with the magical suffix “SL”, for Super Leicht or Super Light, has continued to this day to be used on Mercedes-Benz sports cars. Hans Kleissl, recognized worldwide as one of the top 300 SL experts, and the former Daimler historian Harry Niemann have produced a book that captures the magic of the world surrounding this car. The events, photographs and fascinating technology, all illustrated within these pages, explain the mystique that inspires people to this day.

Contents:

• Phoenix arising from the ashes
  Rebuilding, economic miracle and the 300 SL Race car
• The W 194 011
  The 1953 prototype
• The Triumvirate
  Rudolf Uhlenhaut, Hans Scherenberg and Friedrich Geiger
• “I’m a Mercedes man ...”
  Rudolf Uhlenhaut the father of the 300 SL
• Fuel Injection Pioneer
  Hans Scherenberg
• The Designer of the 300 SL
  Friedrich Geiger
• The Gullwing
  From Race car into production
• Cost Center 8627
  A Gullwing prototype for Werner Engel
• Private Drivers
  Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupé W 198 I
• Victory in the Green Hell
  Gunter Thiel, a boy from the United States in the Eifel
• 300 SLS Porter Special USA
  Charles Earl (Chuck) Porter
• Pilots and Racing drivers
  A Swedish-German Friendship: Uno Ranch and Karl Kling
• The Doctor’s Aluminum Gullwing and the Mille Miglia
  The 300 SL Gullwing of Dr. Alberico Cacciari
• 153.771 mph on the Salt Flats
  Don Ricardo and the Bonneville Red Lightning
• At 204.778 mph on a bicycle
  A world record for two, José Meiffret and Adolf Zimber
• Hit the gas, life is beautiful
  Porfirio Rubirosa, the penultimate Playboy
• 008 has survived
  Aga Khan, Prince and Playboy
• The last true Playboy and his SL
  The world of Gunter Sachs
• The prototype
  The history of the first 300 SL Roadster
• “The Black Torpedo” and the Sindelfingen ghost
  David Douglas Duncan and Picasso
• An American in Stuttgart and the consequences
  Paul O’Shea and the SLS
• The racy Roadster
  The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL W 198 II
• The red Roadster from Rotenberg
  Eugen Boehringer
• “It’s Ron’s Roadster ...”
  An Interview between Mercedes Specialist Martin Cushway and Harry Niemann
• A Star for the Star
  Horst Buchholz and his Roadster
• Rudi’s last racer
  Rudolf Caracciola
• Bella Diva, bella Macchina
  Sophia Loren and the SL
• Celebrities and the 300 SL
  Beauty, chic and charm
• Rusty retrospectives
  The winning car and the banana tree
• The most valuable scrapyard in the world
  Rudi Klein and his treasures
• Racing successes of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL 1952 – 1957
• Racing successes from the 1990s on
• The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Club
• Appendices
  Technical specifications
  300 SL modifications
  Colors and options
  References
  Footnotes
  Acknowledgments
  Imprint

Buch, Hardcover, 25 x 30,5 cm, 374 Seiten, 403 teils farbige Abbildungen, englischer Text
Einzelstück - Zustand: neuwertig