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The Mercedes R230 SL
The Mercedes R230 SL
The Mercedes R230 SL
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The Mercedes R230 SL

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If you search for a car that can hold its own, when parked next to a Porsche 911 Cabrio, don't look any further. Because the R230 is regarded by many as the best looking SL that has left Stuttgart after the famous Gullwing. Updated in March 2017, this 250-page book
- offers a comprehensive Buyer's Guide
- explains the VIN/FIN, Data Card and COMAND system in great detail
- discusses potential problems with the vario-roof
- covers all versions including the Special Editions
- takes the reader along for a most enjoyable test-drive in the splendid SL65 AMG
- comes with some 200 mostly recent non-Daimler AG photos and
- shows what tuners like Brabus or RENNtech had to offer

A separate chapter covers all technical information and production figures. Enjoy! The guide ends with a free book offer.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateMay 9, 2012
ISBN9781476304274
The Mercedes R230 SL
Author

Bernd S. Koehling

With over 25 books and e-books written about Mercedes-Benz cars, Bernd S. Koehling has proven to be an authority on the brand. Those books cover cars from the 1947 170V to the 2012 SL R231. Bernd has been involved in the Mercedes scene since the early 1970s, when he restored his first 170 Cabrio B. Since then he has not only owned many classic Mercedes including a 220S, 300d Adenauer, 200D, 250SE, 280SE coupe 3.5, 300SEL, 350SL, 280E, 450SE, SLK230, he has also gained a wealth of knowledge and experience, which he shares with his readers in his books. Bernd has always considered Mercedes one of his favorite car manufacturers and has driven almost all Mercedes models built since the 1950s. His other weakness revolves around British cars, here especially Jaguar and Alvis. If you would like to know more about Bernd's books or want to read his blog with selected Mercedes stories, why don't you visit his website: benz-books.com

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    The Mercedes R230 SL - Bernd S. Koehling

    FOREWORD

    When the first SL was launched in 1952, nobody envisioned that the name SL would develop into one of the better-known household words in the world. The first street-going version of that car, the famous Gullwing, cemented the importance of that name. The Mercedes SL has developed into an automotive icon. While the early models were more developed with an eye on class, elegance and most of all performance, the more modern versions have added comfort and luxury to it. So much in fact that many aficionados of the marque have argued that the L in SL stands nowadays not anymore for Leicht (light) but for Luxury.

    But carrying a name such as SL is not only a tradition, it can also be a burden. When power steering and automatic transmission was first introduced in the Pagoda SL in 1963, many critics especially in Europe lamented this to be the death knell to the venerable SL. At that time management was luckily wise enough not to listen to those remarks, but to look at what the markets wanted from a sports car. And one of the biggest markets for such cars was without doubt North America.

    Thus, it came as no surprise that the successor of the W113 SL was even more geared towards the demands of this market. Again critics in Europe argued the car would have too much of an American influence, this time in its design. Power steering and automatic transmissions had by now been grudgingly accepted. Little did they know how successful this Americanized SL turned out. After the G-model, the R107 developed into the car with the longest production run of any Mercedes-Benz.

    It seems that Daimler-Benz engineers have learned to live with such kind of burden, as so far every new SL was despite some initial criticism a car that was able to set new standards and thus become part of a breed that exists, as many journalists and car aficionados see it, in a class of its own.

    When the R230 was launched in 2001, it was again a technological breakthrough in its market. And for the first time the SL carried its steel roof along. The vario steel roof was not a first for Daimler-Benz and not a first in the large roadster class; it was seen already on the Lexus SC430. Although not much lighter than its predecessor, the R129, the new R230 quickly found a loyal following especially in the form of the SL500. And just when people thought that the SL500 was the ultimate Mercedes sports car, the SL55 AMG rocket was launched. With its performance and luxury, it was the perfect combination of race car and boulevard cruiser. Little wonder it attracted so many eager buyers. No other sports car from any manufacturer in the world offered such a convincing package at such a price level. Unfortunately, quality was in the first years of the SL`s existence not always at par with what clients were used from a Mercedes, so sales suffered accordingly. Face-lifts in 2006 and 2008 helped to improve quality and greater attention to customers’ complaints managed to revive the SL’s success story. When the last R230 left the Bremen plant in Nov. 2011, it was clear that this SL had continued the long and proud tradition of its older siblings.

    This revised book covers the SL R230 with all its variations, AMG versions, special editions and some of the tuner activities such as models from Brabus, Carlsson and RENNtech. I will take you along for a most exciting test drive in a mind-blowing SL65 AMG and we will discuss, what to watch out for, when you plan your R230 purchase. We will also have a look at the R230 price situation, as it presents itself in early 2017 in the US, UK and Continental Europe.

    I would like to thank you for having purchased this book and I hope you will enjoy reading it. If you are interested, this e-book is also available in a printed version. A link to it can be found on my website.

    March 2017

    Bernd S. Koehling

    3

    The vario steel roof is born

    The R230-series SL was the fifth generation of the venerable sports car, if one does not count the 190SL (this is what Mercedes does). Most of its predecessors had been presented to the automotive world in the month of March at the Geneva International Automobile Show. This time it was different. It happened in July 2001 at the Deichtorhallen in Hamburg in Northern Germany. The Deichtorhallen is not just any ordinary congress center, it is one of the largest exhibition centers for modern art in Europe. Lionel Richie and Leslie Mandoki had been asked to compose a song that should highlight the launch of the new SL. 500 journalists from around the world had been invited to witness the celebration, where Daimler-Benz presented the new shooting star and Lionel Richie and Juliette, a young German singer, performed the song The One.

    It was not only the song that was unique; in typical SL tradition the R230 was unique in many ways too. The most striking feature was its new retractable vario-roof steel hardtop, which was operated by a hydraulic pump and eleven computer-controlled hydraulic cylinders. From now on the SL carried its hardtop with it, no more separate storage needed in the garage The soft top was history. This feature was without doubt the category killer.

    5

    A prototype with such a roof had been shown already in 1994. The first Mercedes to be equipped with the vario-top was the SLK, launched in 1996. An unusual option was a retractable Panorama glass roof, that could be ordered as an extra for $1,840.- .

    67

    Via remote control or after one had flipped up the paddle switch at the end of the center console, one could enjoy for 16 seconds how the roof would open, an extremely complex swiveling mechanism separate the aluminum and glass panels and stack them in the upper part of the trunk. The 1996 SLK still needed 25 seconds for the same procedure. Underneath it, 235 liters (8.3 cu ft) of luggage space were available. A small red button on the trunk sill could be pushed to raise the folded hood again slightly, this way a bit more luggage space became available. With the top up, that space increased to 317 liters (11.2 cu ft), which was 50 liters (1.8 cu ft) more than the R129 had to offer

    History of the vario-roof

    In most publications, the interested reader will discover that the first car equipped with a folding-hardtop roof was a Peugeot 401 from 1934. This is correct, when one considers electrical hardtops only. But that is just half the story, as the concept to have an all-weather removable metal top in an automobile dates back further. And it did not start in France, but in the United States of America. Benjamin Ellerbeck from Salt Lake City, Utah was an engineer with a keen interest in everything automotive. By autumn 1919 he had worked out the basic design of a shiftable/retractable top for open cars, and by the early 1920s he had built a number of 1/8 scale models to demonstrate how his invention worked to potential clients. In 1921 he was granted a patent (US patent no. 1.379.906) for his shiftable top. Jumping forward somewhat, in December 1930 he was granted another US patent for a roadster that featured a second windshield for the rumble seat.

    8

    The metal top disappeared behind the front seats, leaving room for the popular rumble seats

    Although he was fairly enthusiastic about his invention, he had so far failed to attract a major customer to apply his ideas. So in 1922 Ellerbeck bought a 1919 Hudson Super Six, to serve as real world model for his innovative top. In order to make his new roof fit, he had to rebuild major parts of the Hudson. But the result was an attractive car, which looked especially inviting with the top down. Once closed, the overhang above the windshield looked similar to a giant air scoop or sun visor.

    10

    The top for the Hudson was altered, as it now sat on top of the car’s rear section

    One problem was the fairly complicated mechanism to manually raise and lower the top. Costly to produce, it scared off quite a few possible customers. So in 1923 he changed his creation by letting the roof rest on landau bars, which were secured to the ends of a cross shaft passing through the body. The previous creation offered straight diagonal arms, which were located inside both body and top. The top was a metal frame with either a fabric or metal cover. In lowered position it would settle flush on the rear deck. In both lowered and raised positions, it was secured with clamps.

    Still, despite his design changes, he had not found an interested party for the innovative top. So in 1925 he wrote a lengthy letter to Packard Motor Company, trying to interest them in his creation. In his letter he stated that he understood the car manufacturer’s desire to draw the line somewhere in the diversity of body styles, but added that he was convinced a Packard roadster would leap in favor if given a modern top construction. Unfortunately, Packard declined, but this did not taper his enthusiasm for his design. Ellerbeck even managed to get his design covered in an article by a British car magazine in the early 1930s, but also saw no interest forthcoming from any foreign manufacturer. The 1929 stock market crash and following economic crisis certainly did not help and when interest in roadsters decreased towards the mid 1930s, so too did all effort from Benjamin Ellerbeck, who had fought so hard for over 15 years to have his innovative concept accepted. Like so many good ideas, it was probably ahead of its time.

    Although almost forgotten, the concept was not dead entirely. Ellerbeck´s idea was picked up in 1930 in Europe by a French dentist, who, just like Ellerbeck, held a keen interest in everything automotive. Because next to making a living as a dentist, George Paulin was also a gifted part-time automobile designer. The shiftable top concept was re-evaluated, simplified and it finally evolved under Paulin into the first power-operated retractable hardtop, and consequently was patented by him in 1931. On his side of the Atlantic, no one showed any interest, initially, in his concept either. Luckily, however, in autumn 1933 that changed, when Peugeot`s Paris car dealer Emile Darl`mat (a friend of Paulin), introduced the dentist to French coachbuilder Marcel Pourtout. Pourtout was immediately intrigued by Paulin´s patent and all three worked on making the retractable top happen. It was Paulin’s luck to have a large car dealer and a respected coachbuilder at his side, support that Ellerbeck unfortunately never enjoyed.

    In May 1934, Carosserie Pourtout used a mid-sized Peugeot 402BL, supplied by Darl`mat, to introduce its Eclipse Decapotable (retractable roof). The revolutionary car gained considerable news coverage, which in turn brought Peugeot management into contact with Paulin. In 1935 he convinced the company of the virtues of his novel concept and consequently sold them his patent.

    1213

    The Paulin concept left no space for luggage or passengers

    In order to further support the idea, Paulin worked from 1934 till 1938 as Pourtout`s designer and helped to launch the system on cars such as the Peugeot 301, 401 and 601. In total 79 Peugeot Type 401 and 473 Peugeot Type 402 were produced with this roof. Sufficient space for the large metal roof was vital, so some 400 of all vehicles were built on the extended sedan chassis of the Familiale Limousine, which had a length of some 5,30 m (210.4 in). The extended chassis made the cars relatively expensive. To mitigate that, it was decided to offer those cars with a manually operated top only. Most customers did not mind, since it was luckily relatively easy to manually raise or lower the top.

    Sadly, only 34 Eclipse Decapotables survive today. Other vehicles designed with a retractable roof by Paulin and produced by Pourtout

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