250 SL; the perfect rear view

I can still remember the first time I ever saw one of these cars, immaculately conditioned in all it’s glory and sitting in the car park of a par 3 golf course in Dublin.

Sure there were more expensive and faster cars there, but I’d never since seen anything that looked so unbelievably cool and haven’t since.

From that moment on, I swore that at some point in my life I would be the proud Sunday driver of one of these cars, top down with the wind blowing through my hair.

The reality of the cost of one of these isn’t astronomical, but unfortunately  I don’t have a few thousand hidden away for a rainy day. Even if I did, this car isn’t the best pick for wet weather.

I’ve contented myself now with the fact that by the time I do buy one of these cars, I will be doing my best Father Of  The Bride impression, equipped with hair dye and all but sans the hot blonde pulling up next to me in the car.

Mercedes-Benz 250 SL with the top up. The king of cool.

The Mercedes-Benz 250 SL is the second coming of the W113 body style, more popularly known as the ‘Pagoda’ coupe, because of the unique shape of its roof line. The car was quite advanced for its era, having four-wheel disc brakes, all-independent suspension, and a 2.5-liter sohc, mechanically fuel injected, six-cylinder engine.

The 250 SL is the rarest of the W113-bodied cars, having been built only in 1967 and 1968. Its predecessor, the 230 SL, was vastly improved upon in this model, while the last of the W113 cars, the 280 SL, had a slightly larger engine and improved steering.

This was one of the most popular cars that Mercedes-Benz ever built, so I better get saving.

Top down in resplendent red. What more could you ask for?