If you walk into a typical full-line automaker’s dealership, you’ll see a wide range of models designed to offer something to a variety of different customers. There’s a sporty sedan for those who want to have fun and carry their friends with them. Those looking for a little more storage space while still getting wallet-friendly gas mileage can buy a small crossover. For buyers who earn their living by hauling heavy materials and pulling trailers full of equipment, the dealer will be happy to offer them a truck.
There’s always some white space left, though. What about those who want a station wagon? Or a vintage vehicle? That’s what makes a Barrett-Jackson auction so great. It’s not an overstatement to say it has something for everyone, whether it’s the first production model of an upcoming vehicle, a modern classic, a heavily modified pickup, an old-school muscle car, or a vintage European roadster, such as this 1955 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL.
First unveiled in prototype form at the 1954 International Motor Sports Show in New York, the 190 SL was redesigned by Mercedes-Benz stylists to make it into a production car. According to the automaker, the finished product displayed at the 1955 Geneva Motor Show no longer had a hood scoop and was equipped with modified bumpers, altered indicators, and “lancets” above the rear wheels. Mercedes offered it as a roadster with a soft top and as a coupé with a removable hardtop – with or without a soft top.
As the 190 in its name implies, the 190 SL had a 1.9-liter four-cylinder engine. Output was 105 horsepower and helped the W121 SL get to a top speed of 105 mph (170 kph).
Performance was only a secondary focus, though. As Mercedes puts it, the “190 SL was not designed to be a true sports car, but an elegant and sporty two-seated GT car.” It found its target audience with the ladies, “who appreciated not only the sporting elegance of its design, but also the open-air feeling that came as standard.”
The 190 SL I saw was a rotisserie restoration that seemed to be the perfect manifestation of those priorities. There was an ease and casualness to it. It wasn’t concerned about wowing passers-by with trick doors or spectators with its speed. Its ivory exterior and saddle tan interior complemented each other and looked like the perfect combination for taking a relaxed sunset cruise along the California coast. I can totally envision my wife driving this car while wearing an oversized pair of sunglasses, her long, wavy hair blowing like spun gold in the wind. Of course, I can also picture myself behind the wheel of this graceful classic, nonchalantly shifting through its four gears as my wife enjoys the sight of the Pacific Ocean’s shimmering waves in the distance.
If you have a 190 SL or have owned in the past, let me know how it was in the comments below.
