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Tag: R107

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Feature Listing: 1986 Mercedes-Benz 300SL with 35,000 Miles

The first modern classic that my father purchased when I was growing up was a 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SL. He had often talked about the SLs and how much he wanted one, so when an example of the W113 popped up he grabbed it. We shared many adventures in that car; I was a young teenager, and traveling to vintage car shows was a treat. Back then, although it was regarded as a pretty car, the W113 was already two generations old and was generally overlooked as a classic; indeed, it was easy to find plenty of clean examples well under $20,000. As the market progressed, times changed – the W113 came back into vogue as appreciation for the classic design matured into a greater market presence. It was no surprise, then, that the successor to the W113 – the R107 – slipped in value. To me, the R107 was always stuck a bit in no-man’s land. The W113 hadn’t been particularly sporty, but it was really quite a beautiful design. The R129 that replaced the R107, on the other hand, was a modern convertible with sporty engines and angular design language that brought the SL into modern times. So for many years the R107 languished, unappreciated despite the handsome if understated design and solid build quality. Languish it is no more, though; as the market begins to awaken to the classic style of the SL that carried Mercedes-Benz through two decades, prices have begun to rise – especially on pristine examples such as this Euro-market 1986 300SL:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1986 Mercedes-Benz 300SL at The Last Detail

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Convertible Week: 1986 Mercedes-Benz 300SL

Perhaps it was reasonable planning that Mercedes-Benz would only offer the R107 SL in the US market with a V8. After all, production of this vehicle spanned a period where horsepower was down due to increasing emissions regulations. Thus, for almost 20 years, customers stateside were deprived of a six-cylinder SL. However, for 1986, a storied moniker reappeared: 300SL. This version of the R107 had the M103 single overhead cam inline-6 that we saw in numerous E and S-class models in the US. Weighing less than the 5.6 liter V8 had its advantages and proved to be a great pairing for this roadster. We’ve seen a good amount of 300SLs make their way stateside now that all of them produced are over 25 years old. This example for sale in California has lived much of its life here, being imported at a time when entry of gray market vehicles wasn’t as stringently regulated.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1986 Mercedes-Benz 300SL on eBay

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1978 Mercedes-Benz 450SLC Euro-spec

By 1978, the C107 was fairly long in the tooth. It wasn’t so much that it was an antiquated design; sure, it was 7 years old but let’s not forget that the R107 convertible version would soldier on for another amazing 10 years, meaning it was one of the longest lived Mercedes-Benz chassis ever. But the personal coupe had two issues – one was from within, with a new big coupe launching in the early 1980s in the W126 chassis. The much more modern C126 effectively negated the purpose of the C107. But the real issue was the competition from BMW, and more importantly Porsche – both of which managed to thoroughly out-class the sports coupe. The E24 was a much more modern and sporty car; though it had a smaller inline-6 motor and no V8 was available, the E24 was several hundred pounds lighter than the C107 and much more of a sporty coupe. But the real revolution was Porsche’s new front-engined Grand Tourer, the 928. Porsche managed to get both more power and more sport out of its interpretation of the GT car, making the C107 seem decidedly dated in comparison. Now a few generations on, finding clean 6s from the 1970s is near impossible in the U.S., and while there are 928s out there, rightly or wrongly they have a certain reputation as complicated cars that are hard to keep running correctly (or, at very least, quite expensive to). The result? The C107 may be the best 1970s personal sports coupe value these days:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1978 Mercedes-Benz 450SLC on eBay

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1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SL

Two Mercedes-Benzes have been capturing the attention of collectors as of late. The high-performance W124 500E/E500, overlooked for years, is finally getting its due respect. Alongside that sedan with sports car poise is the last of the R107 roadsters, the 560SL. Seeing where values of prior SL generations have been headed, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before prices on good examples of this V8 roadster started to creep upwards. The R107 had one of the longest production runs of any Mercedes-Benz. The 560SL was the capstone model in the US to celebrate its departure before a new SL would debut for a new decade. This 560SL strikes a good balance between museum piece and driver, with reasonable miles for its age and records dating back to 1989.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SL on Hemmings Motor News

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1981 Mercedes-Benz 280SL 5-speed manual – REVISIT

The 1981 Mercedes-Benz 280SL equipped with a 5-speed manual that we featured last year has turned up once again. While 560SL prices start to soar, the time is ripe to explore other R107s for a potential value. If you want something unique, at least to the US market, this one is for you.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1981 Mercedes-Benz 280SL on eBay

The below post originally appeared on our site November 11, 2014:

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