Classic Mercedes SL320

When it comes to classic Mercedes, it’s the earlier generations of the SL which have grabbed the limelight, their combination of timeless style and the rugged Mercedes engineering making them a practical proposition for regular use in modern traffic.

Not that you’d want to use one every day though: the car’s values and their age make it a foolish thing to do... which is where the newer R129 generation makes a case for itself.

Launched in 1989, the R129 came along just as the R107 was beginning to show its age and was a technological tour de force with a sharply chiselled ’80s style to suit. The new SL was touted as the safest open car in the world at the time of its launch, with features such as the hidden roll bar which automatically deployed within 0.3 seconds if the sensors detected a rollover was imminent. The screen pillars were also engineered to support the weight of the car and early Mercedes press shots showed a crash test car being dropped on to its screen. Couple that with the innovative integrated seat modules, where the seats are mounted on a subframe complete with seatbelt and you do have an open car which offers rather more crash safety than the average Midget.

The SL originally came with the straight-six and V8 engines carried over from the R107 generation but in 1995 the car received a minor facelift, with a more extensive makeover in 1998, which brought in more rounded wing mirrors and a revised engine range, which saw the long-serving straight-six power plants replaced by V6 units.

Being a 1998 model, this example for sale at the SL Shop near Stratford is an example of the V6-powered SL320 and it’s this model which is often regarded as being the pick of the range. With a very refined 224 bhp on offer it’s no slouch, yet offers the potential for 30 mpg economy which is something you’d struggle to achieve with the V8 engines.

As the name suggests, the SL Shop specialises in SLs of all ages, with their particular speciality being the R107 cars but they generally have a handful of these later SLs in the showroom as customers have come to appreciate their charms. The R129 was designed in a different era from the R107 and especially with the hardtop can live outside all winter without suffering. And speaking of the hardtop, this one comes with the desirable panoramic (translucent) roof which is a desirable option, together with all the usual SL toys including air conditioning, power roof and electric seats.

With just 64,000 miles showing and a thick history file, this SL is very much in the prime of its life and the bodywork and interior reflect a caring previous owner. These cars are generally reckoned to be one of the last models to be truly over-engineered in the traditional Mercedes way and there’s a reassuring solidity to everything from doors to column stalk.

Sitting in the SL for the first time the car feels big, with the chunky interior more like an S-Class than a sports coupe but once you’ve spent a few minutes behind the wheel it shrinks around you in the manner of all the best cars. Fire up the engine and the V6 is very different in character from the older straight-six engines, offering modern refinement levels but still delivering when required: the 320 is good for 0-60 mph in just 8.4 seconds which is hot hatch territory.

As for the rest of the running gear, this kind of mileage really is nothing to one of these cars and the suspension was tight and silent over rough surfaces, with the whole car feeling nothing like its 16 years.

This really is a lovely example of the later SL and although you’ll see cheaper examples, they will generally be the older pre-facelift model and more often than not a higher-mileage car too. Ironically, despite their ability to shrug off high mileages the values of these cars do tend to be affected by their mileage.

The early cars can suffer from niggling problems too, whereas these facelift SLs are pretty trouble-free.

At a fraction of its original selling price, this SL320 makes a great case for itself as a practical modern classic with serious performance on tap and the bonus of four
seats.

Keep it long enough and hopefully prices will have started to follow its older brothers upwards.

YEAR:1998
PRICE:£11,995

ENGINE: 3199cc V6
POWER: 224 bhp
TOP SPEED: 149 mph
0-50 MPH: 8.4 secs
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 30 mpg
GEARBOX: Five-speed automatic