100 Cars That Changed History

“Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupé in Montabaur“. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 de via Wikimedia Commons.

69. Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupé/Gullwing 1954–1957 Germany

The first iteration of the SL-Class grand tourer convertibles, the 300SL, was introduced in 1954 as a two-seater sports car with distinctive gullwing doors. A roadster iteration would become available in 1957. The original was notable not only for its awesome gullwing doors, but for being the first car available to consumers to come with a fuel-injection. It also boasted the world’s top speed at the time. It was competitively successful, winning Le Mans in 1952. Today, the 300 SL with gullwing doors is one of the most collectible Mercedes-Benz cars in existence, valued between $1 to $2.5 million. The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG is described by Mercedes as a spiritual successor to the 300SL Gullwing.