1971 – Mercedes-Benz 280 SL

The only convertible also known and appreciated for its "Pagoda" hard-top. French road registration Chassis n°113.044-10-023411 Engine n°130.983-10-008074 Gearbox n°1025.000-064-003774 - One of the stars of Mercedes-Benz, signed by French designer Paul Bracq - The most powerful and desirable 280 version of the SL generation W113 - Very rare 5-speed manual gearbox and optional power steering - Clear history, essentially two owners from Lyon since delivery - Excellent condition, with magnificent original cognac leather interior - Matching numbers car with 92,500 kms and original service history! The Mercedes SL generation W113, more commonly known as the "Pagoda" in reference to the characteristic shape of its hardtop roof, was presented at the 1963 Geneva Motor Show. It replaced both the prestigious 300 SL and the more accessible 190 SL. As such, it represents a kind of synthesis between the sportiness of the former and the comfort of the latter. It was a completely new car at the time, as elegant, bright and practical as it was efficient and safe, without being too expensive for the star brand. In fact, the Mercedes Pagoda was the first sports car to feature a rigid passenger cell with front and rear crumple zones. A blend of tradition and modernity, its pure lines, created by French car designer Paul Bracq, perfectly integrate the concave hard-top, which, in reference to its shape, is known as the Pagoda and, by extension, has given its name to this generation of SLs. With its slim pillars for easy access and high windows for enhanced visibility, the hardtop also enhances the Pagoda's plush, well-finished and spacious interior. Equipped with a 2.3-liter in-line six-cylinder engine with Bosch injection pump, taken from the slightly re-bored 220 SE sedan and upgraded to 2.5L in 1966 and 2.8L in 1967, the SL type W113 is truly dynamic, yet more bourgeois than sporty. It is offered with a 4-speed manual gearbox, with the option of a 4-speed automatic or a 5-speed ZF manual gearbox. Initially fitted with disc brakes only at the front, from the 250 SL onwards the brakes are disc brakes on all four wheels, in addition to being larger at the front and associated with a brake force regulator, completing the safety aspect of the SL. The self-supporting body, with aluminum doors to keep weight down, is supported by a suspension system with independent wheels that is supple and comfortable, yet surprisingly effective in its handling. All this gives the Pagode an undeniably modern driving feel for a car from the 1960s. All the more so when the optional power steering completes the standard equipment. The Mercedes-Benz SL type W113 was successively available with three engines (230, 250 and 280 SL) and two versions (hard-top and California) during its 8-year production run, during which just under 49,000 units were built. A great success and an important generation in the SL lineage, the "Pagoda", the quintessential easy-to-use collector car, is still highly appreciated today. More than 60 years after its launch, it continues to make the Mercedes star shine in the eyes of collectors. The Mercedes-Benz roadster presented is a 280 SL (W113) Pagode with hard-top, equipped with the very rare optional 5-speed mechanical gearbox. Imported into France by Royal-Elysées, the official Parisian distributor, this is an example from the last year of production, launched on February 9, 1971. It comes in white (050) with whitewall tires and cognac leather interior (250) with brown carpeting. In addition to the 5-speed ZF manual gearbox, fitted to fewer than 350 examples of the 280 SL, among other options, it also features power steering. Delivered to its first owner in Lyon in February 1971, it has always remained in the region and has had only two other owners, including the second owner's daughter since 2021, whereas her father had acquired it some thirty years earlier, in 1992 at around 73,000 kms. An avid collector, he drove the car and had it regularly serviced, as evidenced by the file of invoices. Concerned about the perfect condition of his Pagoda, which was the jewel of his col