Vehicle Description
Vehicle to be offered for Auction sale August 17th - 19th, 2017 at
Russo and Steele's 17th Annual Monterey, California Auction. Please
contact us for more information. Los Angeles Broadcasting Pioneer
Art Astor was a man known for many things. A dedicated businessman,
loving father and grandfather and first rate soldier, Art was also
known for his incredible devotion to the automobile. Russo and
Steele is proud to present in Monterey, California the last
remaining automobiles in Art Astor's legendary collection. The
Devotion Collection features the cars truly closest to Art's heart.
These fourteen remaining offerings are vehicles that Art felt so
passionately about that he kept them the closest to him, through
the end of his life and include prime examples of Pre and Post War
American Classics, American Luxury Cars and European Sports Cars.
The Mercedes-Benz 280 SL was introduced at the 1963 Geneva Motor
Show, and was produced from 1963 through 1971. It replaced both the
legendary 300 SL and the 190 SL. Of the 48,912 produced the
majority were destined for the US. Often referred to as Pagodas due
to the distinctive slightly concave hardtop, a name which is
patented. All models were equipped with an inline-six cylinder
engine with multi-port fuel injection. The bonnet, trunk lid, door
skins and tonneau cover are made of aluminum to reduce weight. The
comparatively short and wide chassis, combined with an excellent
suspension, powerful brakes and radial tires gave the 280 SL superb
handling for the era. The styling of the front, with its
characteristic upright Bosch fishbowl headlights and simple chrome
grille, dominated by the large three-pointed star in the nose
panel, paid homage to the then already legendary 300 SL roadster.
This example, from the Art Astor collection, is finished in white
with a red leather interior. It has the 4-speed manual transmission
and has recently prepared for the road. The tradition of the
legendary 300 SL continues with this fabulous example of a 280 SL.
