The C107 coupe rode a wheelbase stretched 36cm longer than the SL it was built from, the only S-Class coupe born from a roadster.
Median 104 hp across 23 similar cars
Lead trim: 280 SL / SLC 2.8 I6 · up to 237 hp
Mercedes-Benz SL-ClassR107/C107 · 1971–1989
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FactThe C107 coupe rode a wheelbase stretched 36cm longer than the SL it was built from, the only S-Class coupe born from a roadster.
The second-longest single series Mercedes-Benz ever built after the G-Class, from April 1971 to March 1989 (SL) and October 1971 to September 1981 (SLC), 300,175 in all. The R107 was a two-seat roadster with a detachable roof and the only roadster Mercedes offered, replacing the W113 in 1971 and replaced by the R129 in 1989; the C107 was a four-seat coupé on a 36 cm longer wheelbase, the only time an S-class coupé was based on a stretched SL. It took W114 chassis parts and the M116/M117 V8s. Two thirds were sold in North America, where the 1972 "350 SL" actually carried a 4.5 L V8 and became the 450 SL for 1973. The final car was a Signal Red 500 SL built on 4 August 1989. The trim figures are the page's European table ratings; it notes several later changes.
Collectors Spotted in the Mercedes-Benz SL-Class Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Mercedes-Benz SL-Class yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
7 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 280 SL / SLC 2.8 I6 | 1974–1985 | 2.7 L Inline-6 | 182 hp | 176 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| 300 SL 3.0 I6 | 1985–1989 | 3.0 L Inline-6 | 187 hp | 188 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| 350 SL / SLC 3.5 V8 | 1971–1980 | 3.5 L V8 | 197 hp | 211 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| 380 SL / SLC 3.8 V8 | 1980–1985 | 3.8 L V8 | 215 hp | 221 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| 420 SL 4.2 V8 | 1985–1989 | 4.2 L V8 | 215 hp | 239 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| 450 SL / SLC 4.5 V8 | 1973–1980 | 4.5 L V8 | 222 hp | 278 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| 500 SL / SLC 5.0 V8 | 1980–1989 | 5.0 L V8 | 237 hp | 296 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
An estimate, for the 280 SL / SLC 2.8 I6 trim: fuel on its EPA figure and a dated national price, upkeep on a per-mile average for the kind of car it is.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
The R232 SL was sold only as a Mercedes-AMG until the Mercedes-Maybach SL arrived in August 2024.
The SL43 is the first four-cylinder SL in roughly 70 years — the last time Mercedes put an inline-4 in an SL was the 190 SL, back in the 1950s.
The SL badge had worn a six-cylinder or bigger for seven decades — until the R232-generation SL 43 arrived with a turbocharged 2.0-litre four, the first four-cylinder SL since the 1950s' 190 SL.
The SL55's R232 generation brought back genuine 2+2 seating as standard — the first time since the C107/R129 era that an SL could carry four without it being a pricey option.
This SL broke with decades of SL tradition under its trunk lid — AMG swapped the folding metal roof for an electrically-driven fabric one, shedding 21 kg to lower the car's center of gravity.
AMG's own flagship SL didn't make it to the end of its run — Mercedes pulled the SL 63 AMG from sale in 2019 after demand for it dried up.
The R231 used a magnesium-aluminum-steel composite body structure designed to cut weight by over 100 kg compared to the outgoing R230.
Mercedes built just 45 examples of a special SL65 AMG to mark AMG's 45th birthday — and only 5 of those ever reached Japan.
The R230 SL63 switched AMG's SL flagship from supercharging to a naturally aspirated 6.2-litre V8 shared with the C63.
Mercedes swapped the SL65 Black Series' folding hardtop for a fixed roof just to make room for a spoiler.
Mercedes claimed 4.2 seconds to 60 mph for the SL65 AMG — independent testers beat that number every time, some by half a second.
Mercedes engineers claimed the SL55 AMG could hit 208 mph with its speed limiter removed — which would have made it the fastest automatic-transmission car on earth, if only for a year before the SLR McLaren showed up.
The R230 was the first SL to replace a folding soft top with a retractable hardtop as standard equipment across the entire model range.
The R129 was the first SL to include an automatically deploying rollover bar, which sprang up in milliseconds if sensors detected an impending rollover.
The C107 coupe rode a wheelbase stretched 36cm longer than the SL it was built from, the only S-Class coupe born from a roadster.
The W113 got its "Pagoda" nickname because its removable hardtop's roofline curved downward at the edges and up in the center, resembling a pagoda roof.
Positioned as the budget way into Mercedes' SL family, the 190 SL still found 25,881 buyers over its eight-year run — vastly outselling the exotic, far pricier 300 SL it was built alongside.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
In 1974 Alfa built a one-off on this Spider: a Porsche-style solid rear window and lift-out roof panels, fewer than 2,000 made, the only Spider ever with a part-solid roof.
Over 100,000 people voted to name this car "Duetto" — but a chocolate-snack maker had already trademarked the word, and a Milan court ruling forced Alfa to sell it as the Spider 1600 instead.
After nearly 25 years of manual-only Spiders, the final Series 4 cars quietly added something Alfa purists never expected: an optional automatic transmission.
The mid-80s Spider's Quadrifoglio Verde trim went all-in on a single look: blood-red carpets and grey leather with red stitching, and it only ever came in three exterior colors.
This Spider was built not by Alfa but by Pininfarina itself, on a platform shared with General Motors.
The 916 Spider's strongest naturally aspirated engine, the 192 PS 3.0 12V Busso V6, was never offered in its GTV coupe twin.
The Frogeye had no boot lid at all — owners reached the spare wheel by tilting the seats forward into the dark cavity behind, a ritual they likened to potholing.
The Fairlady 2000's SR311 update came with a five-speed manual gearbox in 1967 — a genuinely unusual spec for any production car of that era.