Mercedes Benz SL

The Mercedes-Benz SL is a luxury car marketed by Mercedes since 1954. The name SL had been taken from the German word Sport Leicht, which means Sport Light in English.

First Generation Mercedes-Benz SL (1954 – 1962)

In 1957, the 300SL luxury model succeeded the Gullwing. In 1955, the Mercedes developed 190SL with a 4-cylinder variant that sold in good numbers, and about 25,881 units were marketed that year. The cars in the SL model were produced as a coupe by a roadster with convertible soft-top, detachable hard-top, a convertible hardtop or combination of both.

The production of 300SL and 190SL stopped in 1963. At that time, there was a new Mercedes known as the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG that restored some of the gull-wing doors and the styling cues.

Second Generation (1963 – 1971)

After that generation, a new design evolved, featuring a 2.3 six cylinder engine, a Coupe Roadster that had a unique roofline known as a “pagoda top “, and big curved and low waistline greenhouse windows. This dominated the Merc SL lineup for next two decades.

Third Generation (1990 – 2001)

The standard 1989 Mercedes SL model was the 3.0 L inline 6-cylinder version that produced in the form of 300SL to produce 228 hp (170 kW). Coming to the European model, it had 3.0 L inline 6-cylinder engine of 300SL along with 12 valves that could churn out 190 hp (140 kW) of power. The European model had also a 5.0 L V8 engine for 500SL version that could evolve 322 hp (240 kW) of power. The specification of this model was too high with

• A roof and seats,
• Mirrors, and
• Electric windows.

1994 Facelift

For 1994 model, the SL had a large facelift and the version 300SL was substituted in Europe with the SL320 and SL280, which designed with 3.2 L I6 and 2.8 L engines respectively. The SL500 sustained with the similar muscular engine. the version SL600 had a 6.0 L V12 engine that could deliver a power of 389 hp (290 kW). The SL600 version was launched in 1994.

Changes in 1995 Mercedes-Benz SL

In 1995, the SL320 version was introduced, along with the 300SL version in the U.S markets; however, the SL280 was dropped off. In 1998, the 6-cylinder engine version was dropped from the US markets, and the company started producing V12 and V8 engine variants. In 1999, a new engine version called 5.0 L V8 was introduced for SL500.

Fourth Generation (2001 – Present)

For 2001, the Mercedes-Benz SL had a retractable hardtop that was sold as the Vario Roof, produced for SLK from 1997. This was equipped with a 5.4 L AMG Supercharged V8 engine that could churn out 302 hp (225 kW). This engine was exclusively designed for SL55 AMG developed in 2002. The V12 engines were exclusively developed for the SL600 and SL65 AMG variants.

Nowadays, the Mercedes CLS models are the buzzword in the market, and the SL lineup is fully loaded with modern amenities, top safety features, and plethora of packages to spice up the interiors.