1959 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL
First shown in prototype alongside the 300 SL at the 1954 New York Auto Show, the 190 SL was a deliberate visual echo of its more expensive sibling.
Styled by Karl Wilfert and Walter Häcker, the bodywork carried the 300 SL’s round headlamps, prominent three-pointed star grille badge, and muscular rear fenders into a more accessible two-seat roadster package.
An optional removable hardtop (cast in aluminum during the first production year, then replaced by steel from 1956 onward) allowed year-round use and gave the car a distinct coupe presence when fitted.
Mechanically, it was a different proposition. Rather than the 300 SL’s purpose-built W198 tubular spaceframe, the 190 SL used a shortened unitary floorpan derived from the W121 sedan platform.
Its 1.9-liter SOHC inline-four (the M121, fed by twin-choke Solex carburetors) produced 105 horsepower, with the factory claiming a top speed of about 108 mph and 0-60 times of roughly 14 seconds.
Conceived as a comfortable two-seat tourer rather than a competition car, it was priced at about $4,000 new in the United States (roughly half the cost of a 300 SL) and found strong demand here.
Of the 25,881 built between 1955 and 1963, a significant portion crossed the Atlantic.
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