Description
Offered for sale is an absolutely gorgeous, entirely honest and mechanically excellent 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SL finished in striking and sought after Blue (DB903) over a blue interior, a sophisticated livery that is all at once timeless and era specific. Sporting a desirable factory 4-speed manual gearbox, this beautiful example has a completely solid original undercarriage and is in turnkey mechanical condition – an absolute joy from behind the wheel.
The car’s finish is beautiful, deep and lustrous, marred only by the most negligible of imperfections, none of which are significant enough to appear in any of the pictures. The body is excellent: straight, free of rust and retaining correct and consistent panel fits and gaps throughout. The chrome is in beautiful condition, free of any dings or significant pitting, and the original wheels with color-matched hubcaps are wrapped in “narrow” white wall tires with plenty of remaining tread.
The car’s blue interior is equally as clean, the MB Tex seats, carpets and interior panels free of any significant wear or damage and showing only limited patina. The dash is free of cracks, appointed with wood trim that’s in fantastic shape and housing an original Becker radio and an original steering wheel that is free of any significant wear or cracking. The dark blue German canvas soft top is fantastic, showing only minimal wear and retaining a crystal clear rear window.
The car is also in excellent mechanical condition, the original engine starting easily without any smoke, idling consistently and pulling strongly and smoothly through each of the manual transmission’s gears with fantastic, consistent compression across all cylinders. In the last month more than $3,500 has been spent in repairs and routine service at the Mercedes dealership and independent specialty shops to bring the car back to turn-key condition. The ride quality is excellent, the suspension is tight and the brakes are strong and true, rounding out a 280SL that is an absolute pleasure to drive, whether tooling through town, winding through the canyons or bombing down the highway.
One of the Mercedes W113’s most appreciated aspects is that they are truly mechanically modern enough for everyday use on today’s roads, and while this car certainly lives up to that standard, it clearly has always been a well looked after weekend driver. It’s also worth noting for those unfamiliar with the model that factory manual gearboxes are extremely desirable due to the way that they’re geared compared to the automatic transmission models, which were produced in a much higher volume. The automatic cars are somewhat sluggish, with very little pick-up from a stand still and high RPMs at highway speeds. Conversely, manual gearbox cars are agile and punchy, feeling much less beleaguered in nearly every driving situation.
This is an excellent opportunity to acquire a consistently appreciating Mercedes 280SL with all the right things going for it: cosmetically gorgeous, rare color combination, solid original undercarriage, strong original engine and desirable manual gearbox. Whether for the seasoned collector or the weekend enthusiast, this car deserves the serious consideration of anyone in the Pagoda market.
