Mercedes first introduced us to the 300 SL back in the early fifties. Despite the engine offering just 170 bhp the Mercedes 300 SL took 2nd and 4th place at Mille Miglia, 1st and 2nd at Le Mans, finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd at the Nürburgring then went on to take 1st and 2nd position at the Carrera Panamericana. It did this with the addition of a new lightweight chassis (W186), an almost entirely aluminium body and aerodynamics that were superior for its time. Basically, everything about Mercedes 300 SL was epic.
When the 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL was revealed, motoring enthusiasts agreed that the car obviously took much of its features and style from the original classic, including the front grille. There was also a huge weight reduction of about 120lbs – due to the extensive aluminium bodywork. Now recent news at Autobild suggests that the days of the Mercedes-Benz SL’s retractable hardtop could be numbered.
The folding hard-top has adorned the body of the two most recent generations. However, according to the popular German automotive magazine, sales of the Mercedes-Benz SL and SLK have dropped significantly since the recent recession. So now Mercedes are looking at ways of reducing the production cost of these vehicles, so that they can pass on these savings to their customers. One of the ways to achieve this is to by using common parts in different models.
The convertible hard-top, that the Mercedes-Benz SL has become famous for over the last decade or so, requires a lot of packaging for such a big roof. Once you also factor in the extra weight and fuel consumption, the roof becomes pretty impractical. This means that the SL could lose it’s retractable hard-top and revert back to an electrically operated folding soft-top.
According to Autobild though, the 3rd generation SL isn’t due out until 2021. So we have quite a while to get our hands on a hard-top version.
Image Source: Chad Horwedel / Flickr – Licensed for reuse under CC License.
Hayley has been an automotive writer for almost a decade, and is the editor of a popular UK motoring blog, as well as writing for DDR Surrey Mercedes Specialist. She specialises in Mercedes-Benz and dreams of one day owning a Mercedes AMG A45.