While reading the history of the most popular cars in North America, the name which very strikingly comes into prominence is the Mercedes R107. It has two seats and the roof was detachable. It replaced the W113 SL-Class in 1971 and was replaced by the R129 SL-Class in 1989. It took its chassis components from the midsize 1968 Mercedes-Benz W114 model and initially mated these components with the e M116 and M117 V8 engines used in the W108, W109, and W111 series. The body style of R107 stayed the same throughout its production from 1971 till the end in 1981. The sale of the cars in North America began in 1972, the cars had a badge saying 350SL on them but they had a larger 4.5L V engine with a 3-speed auto transmission. The initial batch of cars have the same front and rear bumpers as the rest but in 1974 the length of bumpers were increased drastically by 8 inches on each end.
The Mercedes-Benz R107 was an enormously popular car in its day. It could be seen in most of the television programs of the 1970s like Hart to Hart, Switch, Wonder Woman, Dallas, etc. though sports cars are more delicate and have high maintenance, it was compared with contemporary cars in toughness, and it is visible on the roads even today. The Mercedes-Benz R107 was also a commercial grand success, it sold more than 300,000 units and two-thirds of its units were sold in North America alone. The vehicle was an aesthetic beauty, its European variant had unique bumpers and lights which is considered one of the most beautiful 1970s car designs. Talking about the light, it has straight light with very compact tight radiuses. The unique wheel design was one of the most quintessential in the whole era of car production.
The Mercedes R107 is not a big car per se, it has two back seats that have no consequential value rather they are just there for the sake of being. Its wheelbase is also short, and the overhangs are longer but it is according to the norm of their time. If we ignore the price for a moment this is the best classic you can own and enjoy the ride. Mercedes has always tried to make cars with the robust build but the way the quality of automobiles is judged has been rapidly changing throughout time. In the 60s and 70s, the quality of any car was not measured by the features it had; rather it was based on the material quality used, the absence of roughness around the corners, and the durability of the car.
The car is heavy with its 3,500 lb total weight, which seems a little problematic. This corpulent car would be sluggish, and a bit ponderous and it would never feel like it’s going to get damaged or would be any wear and tear any time soon. The engine was a variant in the European version of the car but the North American version has only one variant because of the pre-existing regulations, they were equipped with a low-compression 4.5L V8 engine. Though, there were no noticeable differences between the power of the engines. A homologation version of the big coupe came into the market in 1977 which has a 5L V8 engine, aluminum alloy bonnet, and boot lid. This also has two spoilers, one in the back and one in the front. The front spoiler was a small lip spoiler, and the one in the back was a black rubber spoiler. Another variant was built to homologate the 1978 World Rally Championship, it was named 450SLC 5.0.
In 1981, three models of the car were discontinued which were 280, 380, and 500 SLC, and a new batch of cars was introduced like the W126 series 380 and 500 SEC coupes.
The North American variant came in a three-speed automatic transmission, but in the European variant manual transmission was available as an option for the owners. The models coming in either 350/450 SL were renamed in 1973 to 4.5L V8 and the gray market 500 SL was renamed to 5.0L V8. This version of the car got revivified in 1981 after 10 years of its launch, the engine was also renewed and it has also got a four-speed automatic transmission. The American variant car got a reduction in the engine to a 3.8L inline-6 there was no noticeable decrease in the power in comparison to the old 4.5 variants.
Mercedes however launched a variant of the vehicle specifically for North America, keeping an eye on the regulations of the USA regarding the emission. The more powerful 500SL with a 5.0-liter engine was not available. The gray market was the best way to get your hand on the forbidden cars. However, from 1986 to 1989, the 560SL was made available for customers to purchase. This edition however was only restricted to the residents of the USA, European, Japanese and Australian markets.
Though it is a good car in terms of durability and a good-engineered engine, there are still shortcomings and defects in the vehicle to look out for. It is a consensus that the more you will drive the car the more it will have wear and tear in the engine and the body, but this is not always the case. Some SLs like this need a constant run to keep the fluids flowing in the engine. It keeps the component from getting perished. One component that always should be kept in the notice is the timing chain guides. Timing chain guides tend to fail if the vehicle is kept unmoved for a long. If this component fails then it would need a thorough rebuild of the engine which would be expensive. To identify the timing chain guides you can listen for a ticking sound on the startup of the vehicle.
Another problem the R107 has is with the Bosch fuel injection, the Mercedes R107 uses a Bosch Jetronic fuel injection system. This system needs great care, if it is not working properly it takes a good amount of time and money to get serviced. The problem can be identified by looking for any kind of hesitation in a startup, misfires, or any queer sounds coming from the engine in a general sense.
Overall the Mercedes R107 is one of the best sports cars that the world has seen in the latter half of the century. With promised durability and monster build quality it also provided a strong feeling of driving a premium classic car. It however demands high maintenance and extensive care, it delivers high-performance and long-lasting engines. The European model is the absolute beauty of the cars and the North American variant has slight changes in the bumper lengths. The car made a massive impact on the contemporary culture around its release. People in the present time feel lucky if they own the classic Mercedes R107.
ClassicMerc.com Team
