Vehicle Description
1965 Mercedes Benz 230SL Roadster
The Mercedes-Benz W 113 is a two-seat roadster/coupe, introduced at
the 1963 Geneva Motor Show, and produced from 1963 through 1971. It
replaced both the 300SL, (W 198), and the 190SL, (W 121). Of the
48,912 W 113SLs produced, 19,440 were sold in the US. The W 113 SL
was developed under the auspices of Mercedes-Benz Technical
Director Fritz Nallinger, Chief Engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut and Head
of Styling Friedrich Geiger. T he lead designers were Paul Bracq
and Bela Barenyi, who created its patented, slightly concave
hardtop, which inspired the "Pagoda" nickname.
If this writer had to pick a Mercedes Benz to take home and put in
his garage, this is definitely the "IT" car to do so. With its thin
body styling, "Pagoda top" which is virtually all glass with thin
supports, the large front headlights playing with the central thin
horizontal chromed tri star badged grille and just the overall
style is pure class in this example of a 230SL from 1965.
Exterior
Mercedes Benz found itself in a position where it needed to cater
to the buyer who wanted a Benz with the performance and styling but
could not afford the 300SL which was priced for the very affluent
customer. So it set out to develop what would become the 230SL,
which was an entirely new platform, had the "Pagoda" styled roof,
and sported an inline 6 cylinder engine . Here we have the result
and the lines are just stunning. The vertical rounded over head
lighting, the thin body styling, raked front chromed edged
horizontal grille with large tri star badge in its center, the list
just goes on and on as to the class this car exudes. The roofline
alone is worth the price of admission for this car with its thin
pillars, abundance of chrome edging and of course the V shaped B
pillars with the concave hardtop. The car is bathed in light red
and has a contrasting off white hardtop. Gaps are excellent, the
paint is evenly applied and nice, and all chrome trimmings right
down to the rocker trimmings are all shiny and non-pitted. Even the
wheel coverings are set to impress with their use of red painted
steel wheels sporting a central red painted and edged in chrome
with a chromed tri star badged dog dish center. Then let's add some
trim rings on the edges and all I can say is WOW! There are some
inclusions in the paint, particularly in one small area near the
hood edge just forward of the front vent on the driver's side as
well as on the passenger's door, but otherwise very nice.
Interior
A swing of the low slung door reveals a nifty armrest covered in
white leather and sporting shiny knobs and actuators. Inside
wonderfully rounded over overstuffed bomber styled buckets with
some vertical tuck and roll inserts and piped smooth bolsters await
your body to be enveloped. A simple central console is running
between the seats and has a storage area and ash receptacle. The
dash is also a marvel of engineering and styling with a mix of
circular bezeled gauges and a vertical rectangular central panel
with a cluster off other important gauges. The dash switches over
from white to red, white being the padded topper, the red for the
dash front, then back to white below. In the center are the climate
control sliders which reside in an aluminum diamond textured strip.
An original Becker AM/FM radio is in and right next to it a clock.
In front of the passenger is a red door glovebox with more aluminum
for the top strip and white metal lower, in each corner is a large
round AC vent. The passenger's side of the dash top is slightly
wrinkled. Beautiful tweed tan carpeting floods the floors and back
storage area which is sans any seating. Just a 2 seater for this
sporty coupe. All beautifully preserved and like new looking
overall.
Drivetrain
Under the hood is like new with the inline fuel Injected 6 cylinder
engine. It weighs in at 2.3 liters and is like new with no
corrosion or rusting, not even any dirt! On the back is a 4-speed
manual transmission and way back power goes to a 3.75 rear axle.
Just pristine condition for this engine bay.
Undercarriage
Underneath the heavy coating of rustproofing has done its job with
all black surfaces. We do note some surface and invasive rust
making an appearanceon both the rockers and stamped steel floor
pans. The car rides with an independent front coil spring and swing
arm with coil springs for the rear suspension. Braking is power
disc brakes in front, and power drums in back.The exhaust is on but
is showing with surface rust on the twin piping and a rust hole
toward the rear of the muffler.
Drive-Ability
I could not wait to drive this example of a sporty vintage Benz and
it was worth every minute of the experience. The car started right
up and accelerated with ease to the test track. No lag, just power
and easy steering, bias free panic stopping, and wonderful
handling. All the while looking great doing it. Visibility is
virtually unobstructed with the roof line, and it is definitely a
head turner. I was able to detect that the muffler needs replacing
as it has holes within it. All else was working just
wonderfully
The car is all excellent, and runs fantastically, and looks great
with the sexy styling. As I mentioned, my favorite of all MB
designs is ready to steal your heart and impress your neighbors. It
comes with a ton of receipts and a service manual, but I'd let the
dealership handle any of this on this classic! Turn the key and
drive away after your pay!
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.
