Palo Alto Concours 2010: Mike Blanton discusses the merits of his creamy Gullwing as new SLS owner Larry Brackett looks on. Blanton's voluptuous rudge wheel GW certainly contrasts the edgy, muscular SLS. Would you connect the two cars if the SLS lacked a grille star and had doors closed?

Mercedes-Benz joins Cadillac as Featured Marque

The 44th edition of the Palo Alto Concours offered Mercedes-Benz enthusiasts an opportunity to immerse themselves in displays covering six decades of the Silver Star’s products. Thanks to the Mercedes-Benz Club of America’s San Francisco region, we were blessed with a fabulous and highly educational group of Mercedes.

Pat Matthews' glorious - and with only 53 constructed exceedingly rare - 300Sc Roadster was an early arrival.

We mustn’t take these concours displays for granted. Palo Alto’s massive Mercedes display – over 40 cars – was largely do to the efforts of MBCA’s SF Bay region president Robert Schilling, MBCA director at large Laura Simonds, and former MBCA president and Star Magazine publisher, Richard Simonds. We present a photo essay below of many of great cars this trio pulled together.

Walking the Lawn among the Mercedes-Benz

Bruce Canepa (Canapa Design, Scotts Valley CA) can always be relied on to display a showstopper. His 1962 Black/Black Roadster featured some rare factory options: 6" wheels, 3.23 final drive ratio and high compression engine. Bruce noted the car produced 190hp at the rear wheels on the chassis dyno. Pathetic in today's world, 190hp is serious power for a roadster. Canepa was coy about the price, noting it was sold for north of $700k. Look at the razor sharp reflections in the door and front fenders - a result of precise metal preparation.

Jim Morris performed most of the restoration on his 1959 220S Convertible himself. 14" wheels - 220s were originally fitted with 13" wheels - aid drivability by effectively raising the final drive ratio.

Gerry Holzapple's understated 173 Grey 280SL is a blend of largely original interior and fresh chrome adorning bare metal resprayed coachwork

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A 280SL presented in a most unusual color/trim combination. Craig Hartman's Moss Green/Green full leather 280SL is gorgeous and correct. Green on Green! One of my favorites and a car I restored some years ago prior to selling to Craig.

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Who in their right mind would fully restore a 220SE sedan? Pat Matthews! He saved what is quite a rare ponton sedan, 1 of the 1,974 fuel injected examples. How many had sunroofs?. Probably less than 100. This sedan is indeed a rare car.

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Byron and Myra Brill's 1971 280SE 3.5 is finished in Midnight Blue(904) with Parchment leather, a rich and desirable combination. Proper 3.5 Cabriolets easily bring $100k+ today and deservedly so. A well sorted example is a comfortable, quick and eminently usable classic today.

Greg Hubit managed to snag this extraordinary low grille 280SE Cabriolet out from under the noses of a number of SF Bay area enthusiasts including this editor. It is also an original Moss Green/Green leather car - like Greg Hartman's 280SL a few cars above - and fitted with a green soft top. It showed only 16k miles(!) on the odometer when he purchased it a few years ago. It is certainly one of the lowest mileage, original 111 chassis convertibles in existence. I'm still depressed at missing this car.

The heavyweight of the Mercedes-Benz on display, Arturo Keller

Who in their right mind would fully restore a 220SE coupe? Pat Matthews! These cozy coupes were largely hand crafted by Mercedes-Benz and cost twice as much as the base six cylinder sedan, the 219. Pat's car is stunning in Midnight Blue with Grey leather.

Larry Brackett is a certified Mercedes nut having owned 60 or 70 examples over the decades. He's not interested in the classics, however, and just added a new SLS to share his garage with this SLR. According to Larry his new SLS is vastly more user-friendly than his SLR.

Larry Brackett's dilemma is what to drive on Sunday morning, the new SLS in the foreground or his SLR behind. What a dilemma!

Chuck and Sue Cortsen's cheery 1953 220 Cabriolet A is a prewar design carrying 170 styling cues. The faired in headlights tell us this is a post war 220.

Sigi Appelt's stately 1960 300d looks quite smart in Silver with acres of Red trim. Three liters and fuel injection provided a respectable 160hp for the ponderous "Adenauer." Only 3,077 were constructed.

300SLs were well represented. Rudge wheels complement this Silver/Red roadster nicely.

Susan Hoebich's 190SL was fitted with slightly(!) non-standard ostrich skin interior trim. The car is fitted with the large rear window hardtop introduced during the 1958 model year.

Event sponsor Academy of Art University provided their 540K Convertible B (4 passenger convertible w/rear quarter window) in recognition of Mercedes-Benz as the featured marque.

Recommended Reading:

Mercedes-Benz The Supercharged 8-Cylinder Cars of the 1930s by Jan Melin ISBN: 91-87036-00-2

Mercedes-Benz 300SL by Dennis Adler
ISBN: 0-87938-8820X

Mercedes-Benz Roadsters 230,250,280,350,450 SL & SLC by LJK Setright
ISBN0-85045-325-9

Mercedes-Benz Production Models Book 1946-1990 by W. Robert Nitske
ISBN 0-87938-190-6

Shop Amazon.com for Mercedes-Benz Books

___________________________________

Roy Spencer, editor MercedesHeritage.com

Please post your comments below.

Photography from Sun Valley Mercedes Dismantlers, Inc.

Have you been to the Mercedes Classic Center in Fellbach, Germany? We haven’t but thanks to an amazing group of images from Sun Valley Mercedes Dismantlers, we can take a virtual tour through many of the significant Mercedes-Benz constructed from the late 1800s to the 1970s and beyond. It’s a mouthwatering display of automobiles, many of which now reside in the Mercedes-Benz Museum. Enjoy this walk through the Silver Star’s storied past.

Here we see a whitegray(158) 300SL roadster, the 190SL competition car and a 300d convertible sedan on the rack above the 190SL.

Mint low mileage 107s sitting in storage containers. Could they have delivery mileage only? Are they V-8 cars or the M110 twin cams?

With the fabled original gullwing-engined high speed transporter having been scrapped in 1967, Mercedes created this replica for PR purposes. Seen here with a 1954(?) W196 GP car aboard, the ungainly appearing transporter was capable of sustained 100 mph shuttles with a race car on its back. An idea from the fertile mind of team manager Alfred Neubauer.

A mind boggling group here. Another W196 GP car (#10) fronts a Sauber Mercedes Prototype and sits next to one of the wankel engined C111s. Behind the C111 we find one of the streamlined 1937 W125s specially prepared for the ultra-high speed Avus circuit in Berlin. #36 may have been von Brauchitsch's car in which he won Avus's 2nd heat with an average speed of 160.37 mph only to fall victim to a failed transmission in the final. Forty-three degree banking allowed the astounding average speeds. Note two more orange C111s sitting in storage boxes above the streamliner.

W194 300SL conquered LeMans for Mercedes-Benz in 1952 and provided the platform for the street version (W198) Gullwing introduced to a stunned motoring world in 1954. These early cars were carbureted.

One of one. This is the one and only fiberglass Gullwing constructed. Inspecting it in Pebble Beach circa 2004, I found the experimental coachwork quality quite crude. Note the "ponton" turn signal housings on each front fender.

Under restoration, this 1954 Grand Prix W196 Streamliner was constructed for high speed tracks. The streamliner returned an aerodynamic advantage of 20.5% over the open wheeled W196. Kling, Fangio and Hermann drove these cars in 1954, the Championship going to Fangio. Note massive inboard finned drum brakes sitting behind radiator.

Mercedes-Benz's 250GTO? The Uhlenhaut 300SLR coupes were fearsome street cars based on the Mille Miglia winning 300SLR roadsters. Constructed for racing manager Uhlenhaut's personal use and never sold to private owners, the straight eight coupe's value could rival that of Ferrari's $25m 250GTOs. With center throttle and deafening noise, the SLR coupe would be quite a driving experience.

Where it all began, the circa 1890 Benz "patent motorwagon."

A W29 500/540k Convertible A or B - hard to tell. Constructed from February 1934 to November 1939, these cars represented the pinnacle of prewar automobile design. Total production of 761 units (342 five liter cars and 419 five point four liter cars) guarantee stratospheric values today.

Cabernet Red R129 SL was a gift to Princess Dianna. After the uproar caused by Britain's then most visible personality driving a German sports car, it was quietly returned to Mercedes.

Circa 1991 Sauber C291 long distance Prototype coupe. Michael Schumacher's tenure driving Peter Sauber's Mercedes engined cars groomed him for Formula ! stardom.

1997(?) CLK GTR thrilled endurance race crowds in the later '90s. This author was one of those thrilled watching Ricardo Zonta's qualifying laps at Laguna Seca. The program faded after Peter Dumbreck's harrowing back flip into the trees at LeMans 1999.

Fabulous recreation of the Bohringer 300SE competition car, the ultimate fintail.

Recreation of the Spa-Sophia-Luttich Marathon Rally winning 230SL.

Charming 114/115 "stroke 8" series also represented at the Classic Center. With over one million constructed from 1968-1976, this series represented Mercedes' most successful passenger car range yet. One could drive a good example daily today.

Interesting 1969/1970 mid-engined C111 project featured 3 and 4 rotor wankel engines. Final 370hp 4-rotor versions were potent road cars offering 0-60 times of 4.8 sec and top speeds of 186mph.

Work-in-progress 600 sits on portable dolly. Note bare 300SL frame on wall in background and W196 streamliner's nose under engine hoist.

Two very interesting cars. The car in the lift is likely an open latter '30s 770 and to its left you can just see the tail of a prewar six wheel military parade car. More of Mercedes' storied and today somewhat controversial prewar heritage.

Three liter straight eight powerplant powered Mercedes back to the top of both the Grand Prix and Sports Car Championship world during 1954/1955. A technical marvel with desmodromic valve gear and Hirth type crankshaft, output peaked at 302hp.

Gorgeous 1932 Maybach Zeppelin DS8 convertible was displayed at the sumptuous 2009 Mercedes-Benz Classic Center display at Pebble Beach.

Through the past darkly: rows of Mercedes icons in storage.

Roy Spencer, editor MercedesHeritage.com

Related links: Mercedes-Benz Classic Center Irvine, CA Parts, Sales, Service

Recommended reading:

The Mercedes-Benz Racing Cars by Karl Ludvigsen

Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Racing 1934-1935 by George C. Monkhouse ISBN 0 904568 42 3

Mercedes-Benz W196 by Michael Riedner ISBN 0-85429-717-0

Please post your comments below.

Sober 170S sedan largely a pre-war design but led Mercedes-Benz post-war revival.

Technical Export Fair, Hanover 1949: Premiere of the Mercedes-Benz 170 S and 170 D passenger cars
Photography from Mercedes-Benz Classic

At the Technical Export Fair in Hanover in May 1949 Mercedes-Benz presented two passenger car models that would go on to play a significant role in the model history of Mercedes-Benz: the 170 D and 170 S. While the 170 S (W 136 IV series, 1949 – 1953) set new standards in terms of ride comfort, the 170 D (W 136 I D, 1949 – 1953) introduced the diesel drive into the large-volume passenger car segment for the first time, thereby making it socially acceptable. In these two fields, ride comfort and diesel drive, Daimler-Benz continued to introduce innovations that would ultimately benefit the customers of all manufacturers in the decades to come.

The consequences of a world war were still omnipresent in Germany in 1947, in the form of food shortages, high unemployment, a flourishing black market and a scarcity of raw materials. The first half of 1948 was dominated by a mood of uncertainty on account of the imminent currency reform. Although the introduction of the D-Mark (deutschmark) brought with it a certain degree of consolidation, a general shortage of capital prohibited overly euphoric investment plans. This was also true for such established and eminent companies as Daimler-Benz AG.

But the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 represented a first step towards more normal political and economic circumstances, and even brought with it a revival of demand. Nevertheless, the picture in Germany’s major industrial heartlands was still dominated by the destruction of war. For even if the rubble had been cleared away, new buildings had not yet replaced the ruins.

The German passenger car market had the following look to it in early 1949: Opel had again started producing the 1.5-litre Olympia since 1947 and the Kapitan with 2.5-litre engine since 1948; since October 1948 Ford had once again started building the Taunus with its 1.2-litre engine; and in July 1947 Daimler-Benz started producing the unmodified pre-war version of the Mercedes-Benz 170 V (W 136 I series) as a saloon. But the extent to which this Mercedes met the traditionally high expectations of a Daimler-Benz passenger car was limited. On the one hand it was not positioned in the luxury car segment. And on the other, it was not state of the art nor had it been before the outbreak of war, when it was overtaken by competitors.

That is why in 1938 the engineers designed the W 136 II series, which was conceived as a successor, but in fact was never launched on the market. It had a new, larger and more advanced all-steel body, which borrowed stylistically and technologically from the Mercedes-Benz 230 (W 153, 1938 – 1943) and set new standards. This body was fitted to the unmodified chassis of the 170 V model. Given the increased gross vehicle weight, it was hardly surprising that the unmodified engine from the 170 V with its 38 hp (28 kW) struggled to deliver appropriate performance.

After the war the engineers returned to finish what they had begun. The W 136 II series initially gave rise to the W 136 III series, although this too failed to go into series production. It was an initiative from Rudolf Uhlenhaut that resulted in the vehicle with the desired qualities. The all-improved W 136 IV series, otherwise known as the Mercedes-Benz 170 S, was given the short arm/long arm front suspension and a modified engine with 52 hp (38 kW). These two features went beyond outstanding ride and suspension qualities and catapulted the car into the premier league of the international car world on its debut in 1949.

Jaunty 170S Cabriolet offered German enthusiasts something in which to once again celebrate motoring during immediate post-war era.

But on account of the special circumstances of the post-war years, the 170 S took on a role for which it had never been intended. Originally positioned merely as a successor to the 170 V model, the Mercedes-Benz 170 S, for want of anything better, suddenly found itself in the role of a luxury class vehicle and was greeted as such on the market, if only for the limited period until the appearance of the Mercedes-Benz 220 (W 187) at the IAA International Motor Show in 1951. For Daimler-Benz it was a matter of existential importance to be represented from 1949 onwards with a passenger car positioned above the 170 V. This special position was also underpinned by the pricing.

The saloon cost DM 9,850 and therefore shared a price tag with the 2.5-litre six-cylinder Opel Kapitan, the most powerful six-cylinder passenger car on the German market at the time. In the case of the 170 S Convertible B at DM 12,500 and the exclusive and very elegant 170 S Convertible A at DM 15,800, the price tags were at the upper limit for German passenger cars in the years 1949 and 1950.

So for Mercedes-Benz and customers in 1949, the 170 S was a vehicle with signal effect. With this vehicle model the brand was very deliberately demonstrating its membership of the automotive luxury class for the first time since the end of the Second World War, and expressed this membership with a letter “S” in the model designation. The “S” was a throwback to the initiative of Haspel, who intended others to see it as an abbreviation for ‘special’ or ‘super.’

Mercedes-Benz 170 D
Difficult birth with sustainable impact

In spite of all the problems, development of the Mercedes-Benz 170 S went according to plan unlike the 170 D, whose evolution could only be explained in the context of post-war confusion. The former design chief for marine engines, Julius Witzky, initially found himself without a field of operation in 1945.  Daimler-Benz no longer had a market either for motorboat engines, no matter how exceptional their reputation, nor for its legendary aeroengines. Witzky transferred his experience of large diesel engine design to development of a high-speed diesel engine for passenger car use. After the war, Daimler-Benz had already built a great tradition as a manufacturer of diesel engine for trucks, motorboats and airships, but until then it had only one diesel-engined passenger car in its range, the Mercedes-Benz 260 D. This came on the market in modest unit numbers between 1936 and 1939, above all as a taxi variant.

1.7 liter cast iron 4 cylinder diesel produced 36hh @ 3,600 rpm.

Although its engine made no great impression on the market at the time on account of its rustic running nature and rather phlegmatic temperament, it could not have had a better introduction thanks to its use also in light trucks. After the war Daimler-Benz set up an engine reconditioning facility in Unterturkheim. Since quite a number of diesel vehicles had survived the Second World War, the German Army had decided against requisitioning diesel-powered passenger cars. A count conducted in Germany on 3 May 1947 revealed 713 vehicles of the type 260 D and 2,565 light commercial vehicles.

From 1945 onwards Witzky began implementing in the basic M 136 engine of the Mercedes-Benz 170 V the excellent pre-chamber results he had enjoyed using an annular intake burner in his motorboat engine designs.

It should be mentioned here that this had been a petrol engine of very simple design, with vertical valves and triple-bearing crankshaft. But in order to turn this into a diesel engine, Witzky developed an entirely new cylinder head that no longer had anything in common with the original assembly. Initially Witzky made two cylinder heads for the new compact diesel engine’s two cylinders. And he aimed to achieve the same output as for the petrol engine – 38 hp (28 kW). His project received the support of former Board of Management members Otto Hoppe and Walter Kaufmann, as well as Dr. Carl-Heinrich Jahr, who was responsible for engine sales. Jahr was confident of good sales for the diesel engine as a replacement engine for the many 170 V passenger cars that had survived the war on account of their robust design, as well as for the recently launched production of the 170 V as a delivery van.

Heretofore unheard of, mainstream passenger cars fitted with diesel engines would see gradual adoption by motorists thanks to Mercedes-Benz foresight.

Test cars equipped with the new compact OM 636 diesel engine successfully completed several hundred thousand kilometres and the desired power output was also achieved. With that, it seemed nothing could now stand in the way of its market launch. An additional boost came in the form of an order during the second half of 1947 from the company Boehringer in Gappingen, which required one hundred engines for its Unimog.

When Haspel returned to his former office at the turn of the year 1947/48, he was initially rather dismissive of plans for diesel engine production, citing the following reasons: “I am in no doubt that this engine is a very good design solution and that it is highly attractive in the current climate. But having looked closely at our operations and established the circumstances in which we find ourselves in terms of men and machines, I have reached the conclusion that anything done on top of what we are already doing would be enough to bankrupt our company. If we do not take action to make ourselves price competitive with the 170 V and turn out at least 1000 vehicles per month, then this factory will perish, even if we were to build a diesel engine with such low fuel consumption. Today we are currently producing an average of 100 vehicles per month. This raises the real question of whether, given such a shortfall, the factory may have to close. In a year the situation could perhaps be different.

Low fuel costs the ultimate argument in favour of diesel engines
The currency reform brought with it a general wave of rising prices, which opened up new prospects for the diesel engine with its low fuel costs. Haspel revised his almost apodicticœno to the diesel engine, when he asserted in June 1948:  As far as problems with the diesel engine are concerned, current circumstances necessitate a rethinking. In view of the expected and significant increase in the price of petrol, once must seriously consider the idea of bringing the diesel engine in line with the petrol engine after all.” This thinking was also shared by other members of the Board of Management, in particular by Head of Production Karl C. Müller and Chief Engineer Fritz Nallinger. The two men agreed that the 170 D could expect a production share of up to 30 percent.

The diesel project was also fueled by another factor. Since the 170 V was now to remain in the range for the time being, the well-practiced composite body production (wood/steel design) would also be available for the 170 D. This fact brought the prospect of high-yield unit numbers. For although demand for the 170 V was down following introduction of the all-steel 170 S, the Mercedes-Benz 170 D helped to maintain overall unit numbers between 1949 and 1951, and subsequently even to considerably expand them, thus making optimum use of production facilities. 1949 saw production of 17,164 passenger cars of the models 170 V, 170 D and 170 S. In 1950 numbers expanded to 33,906 units, and 38,350 units in 1951.

For Daimler-Benz, therefore, the Mercedes-Benz 170 D opened up an opportunity for a successful multi-model strategy. At the same time, the vehicle laid the foundations for the success of the diesel engine in passenger cars. For strictly speaking it was the Mercedes-Benz 170 D that first made the diesel-powered passenger car socially acceptable. On account of its low unit numbers, for which the high price tag was partly responsible, (170 V: 3,750 Reichmarks, 260 D: 6,800 Reichmarks), the 260 D was more of a fringe phenomenon.

With the introduction of the Mercedes-Benz 170 D in Hanover, too, the company at first operated with a relatively high sale price in order to dampen the initial enthusiasm on the part of customers. The 170 V had a price tag of 8,182.75 DM, and the 170 D was priced at 9,200 DM. The reason for such damping measures was to do with the initially limited availability of Bosch injection pumps; but it was also an attempt first to place a focus attention on the 170 S. When it was launched in 1950, the 170 Da was already considerably cheaper, priced at 8,620 DM.

Despite the euphoria triggered by the Mercedes-Benz 170 S in Hanover, the unassuming sustainability of the 170 D also well and truly caught the public imagination. Even trade journalists with a pronounced leaning towards speed took a liking to the vehicle. For example, in a test report about the compact diesel novice, published in the trade magazine Das Auto in 1949, Paul Pietsch enthused: “As with the 170 V, the body is unfortunately rather narrow. The boot is too limited in size and not easily accessible. In terms of liveliness, the engine certainly outperforms the 170 V, in other words the petrol version. Its torque is particularly noticeable on winding stretches of road. Even if one kicks down hard on the accelerator at 100 km/h, there is no noticeable flat spot and the engine responds powerfully, accelerating up to 105 km/h, or even 110 km/h in favorable circumstances. [Note: The maximum speed for the 170 V given by the factory is 108 km/h.] Apologies, that was not said for the benefit of those living with speed restrictions in the American and British zones, but was tested in our unrestricted French zone. We would like to take this opportunity to put on record that we have seldom approached a car with more prejudice than in the case of the MB 170 D; and yet rarely have we been more excited about an engine than this one. Indeed, we got to like the car so much we were reluctant to return it to the plant.”

Motor Rundschau established a new top speed for the Mercedes-Benz 170 D of 102 km/h and 105 km/h for the 170 Da with an additional 2 hp. For both vehicles, touring fuel consumption figures of between 6.5 and 7.5 litres per 100 kilometres were returned. By comparison, the Mercedes-Benz 170 V achieved between 10 and 11 litres per 100 kilometres.

So these were two vehicles with a wide range of merits, not least among them the fact that the 170 S and 170 D enabled Mercedes-Benz to get through the post-war years successfully. With these and with the 170 V, the brand established the basis within the passenger car portfolio for sustainable success in the decades to come.

Photography from Barrie and Sarah Taylor

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Following a lifelong association with the Morgan Motor Car, in particular the Plus Four sports model of 1958-1962, which I have raced and rallied throughout the UK and Europe, I became enraptured by the fabulous lines of the Mercedes-Benz “Pagoda” SL roadster, also officially known as the Type W113 SL roadster. I just had to have one! Especially so, following a particularly wet rally in Wales in the Morgan, and watching the comfort of the competitors in a Pagoda! A 280SL soon joined the stable and we enjoyed many spirited events in the car. See the photos below.

Sarah Taylor with the Type W113 280SL and a Scottish Highland bull in need of a haircut.

Barrie and Sarah Taylor with the 280SL roadster at Castle Combe motor racing circuit.

The 280SL twice competed in “The Grand Tour”, a run from Cape Cornwall in the far South West of England to Cape Wrath, next door to John ‘o Groats in the North of Scotland. A classic car rally on behalf of The Macmillan Cancer Relief Trust, a very important organization who receive no government funding, yet provide immense care for those living with cancer. Twenty six competitors raised some £ 55,000 in aid of the charity.

1958 Mercedes-Benz Type 220S Ponton cabriolet owned by Barrie Taylor.

In August, Sarah and I got married, and so this rally was to be our “Honeymoon” Well, make or break! At the end of the month we set off to join the other participants in Salzburg.

Mercedes-Benz Classic Days / Salzburg, Austria / September 4-11, 2005.

What a fabulous collection of Classic Mercedes-Benz motor cars greeted us. From the 1929 SSKs, four of them. Several 1929 630Ks, and our own club (Mercedes-Benz Club, GB) technical expert Jeremy Stevens in his Type 170Vb sedan, and so many 300SL Gullwings and 300SL roadsters, I think all the factory ever made were there! Several Type W111 220SEb Fintails, and an exact replica of the Eugen Böhringer’s W113 230SL roadster which won the Spa-Sofia-Liège Rally in 1963. Also present was our own club chairman Ian Keers and his wife Pat, in their 1965 220SEb coupé. There were of course, myriad Pagodas, resplendent in every possible colour scheme.

Sensory overload. Even the coach (at the back of the photo) seems to be a Mercedes-Benz! Note the factory prepared 1955 Type 220a Ponton sedan with Webasto sliding sunroof. Richard Simonds, current National President of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, drove this car.

Barrie Taylor's 220S cabriolet with Sarah Taylor, Laura and Richard Simonds.

A veritable smorgasbord of Mercedes-Benz wheels. Barrie Taylor's silver 220S Ponton cabrio is in the center with Sarah Taylor at the boot (trunk).

Pontons were well represented, and four of our 220S and SE cabriolets were present, but we were the only ones with Right Hand Drive! I believe about 2,178 units of the 220S cabriolet were built, and I think only about 100 or so of these were right hand drive. Perhaps someone could enlighten me.

Type 280SE cabrio driven by Robert & Christine Reid, president of Mercedes-Benz Club Queensland, Australia. Paul Braq's original design sketches for this model date back to 1957. Built as the Type W111 220SEb, 250SEb, and the W112 300SEb between 1960-1967. In later years, there were further derivatives of these cars: 280SE (1967-1971), 280SE 3.5 (1969-1971). Also note two tone Ponton coupé to the right.

Type 300Sc cabriolet parked next to Barrie Taylor's 220S Ponton cabriolet.

Classic Days comprises what they call “Regularity” runs on the Salzburg Ring (also: “Salzburgring”) race circuit. This amounts to you doing your own thing, speed wise, on the first lap, and then having to match it to the 1/10th of a second on each subsequent lap. Then to spice things up a bit, they have you reduce your lap times by 2 seconds a lap. It all gets faster and faster and more fun!

There is also a timed run up the famous Gaisberg Hill Climb course, first made famous by Manfred von Brauchitsch in 1929. Terrific fun, but you need to keep pressing on at the bottom, the cars tend to run out of puff as they approach the summit some 3,000 meters above sea level.

Following three days of intense competitive sporting activity, the whole rally then proceeds around a fabulous tour of the lakes and mountains of this most beautiful part of Austria. See the photos at the end of this page.

The grand Finale is a gathering of all the cars, driven over a red carpet into The Residence Platz square in Salzburg, where a concors d'elegance is held for all the entrants cars on display for the thousands of local people who came to see "the Mercedes-Benz"!

The whole event was of course, exquisitely organized by the Mercedes-Benz Classic Team from Stuttgart, led by Mr. Dieter Ritter. His whole team were just unbelievably helpful, and they even brought with them a team of traveling technicians from The Classic Centre to take care of any little mishaps.

There were entrants from all over the world, including the President of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, Mr. Richard Simonds, and his lovely wife Laura. They were using a Classic Centre 1955 Type 220a Ponton sedan with a Webasto sliding sunroof. Other entrants came from Australia, New Zealand, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, and of course Austria.

They really made us welcome. The newlyweds, Barrie & Sarah Taylor on a real oldie!

You rode in the best, now ride with the rest!

1930 Mercedes-Benz Type 710 SS cabriolet with a 6 cylinder, 7065 cc engine. Driven by Jochen Maas at the Salzburgring. He also drove a McClaren SLR.

Type 300 SL roadster and a McClaren SLR. There appears to be no integrated space for the license plate on the SLR.

Two tone paint job on a 220S Ponton cabriolet. Note extra fender trim to delineate the two colors.

Type 220S Ponton cabriolet with what appears to be a Type 170S cabriolet "A" (convertible coupé, 2 passenger) in the background.

Type 220S Ponton cabriolet wearing what appears to be DB335 "Mercedes Blue."

Type 170S cabriolet "A" (convertible coupé, 2 passenger).

Sarah Taylor with a 1937 Mercedes-Benz Type 540K cabriolet.

Richard and Laura Simonds with their 1955 factory-prepared Type 220a Ponton sedan with a Webasto sliding sunroof, but minus the bumpers.

Richard and Laura Simonds at the start of the Salzburgring.

Barrie and Sarah Taylor await the start at the Salzburgring. Note the Right Hand Drive.

The W187 Type 220 was built from 7/51-5/54. It was available in four body styles: 4 door sedan, cabriolet "A" (convertible coupé, 2 passenger), cabriolet "B" (convertible coupé, 5 passenger), and coupé. It had an overhead cam 6 cylinder gasoline engine of 2,195 cc. It could develop 80 bhp and weighed 2,970 lbs. The wheelbase was 112 inches. Daimler-Benz produced 16,154 sedans and 2,360 of the other body styles. The W187 Type 220 should not be confused with the Mercedes-Benz Ponton Type W180 220a sedans built from 3/54-4/56. Note Type W121 190SL roadster in close pursuit of the 220!Factory built exact replica of Eugen Böhringer's W113 230SL roadster which won the 1963 Spa-Sofia-Liège Rally against more powerful Austin-Healeys. Following the 230SL is a W114/W115 "/8" sedan (slash 8, also, "new generation" sedans were first introduced in 1968, hence, "/8") and finally another Type W113 SL.

As for our un-tried 220S, well she "done good", as they say, no problems apart from a little over-heating in the high mountains, and some brake fade coming down. The whole experience of driving the Ponton after the sportiness of the Pagoda, is rather like caressing a lovely old lady. You sort of coax her along at her own speed, rather than the hustle of the 280SL. But we love her, and my new wife Sarah said on first acquaintance, "a real boot (trunk) loads of room for luggage!"

1937 Mercedes-Benz Type 540K cabriolet. Type W111 280SE cabriolet driven by Robert & Christine Reid.

1965 Type W111 220SEb coupé owned by Ian and Pat Keers. Ian is the chairman of the Mercedes-Benz Club, GB.

Another 220S Ponton cabrio in the mix!

Richard and Laura Simonds in the Mercedes-Benz Classic Centre's 1955 Type 220a Ponton sedan.

Jochen Maas between Sarah and Barrie Taylor. Â The start of the Gaisberg circuit. What's that, a BMW 328 behind the Type 710 SS cabriolet? The BMW 328 was introduced in 1936 and was a very popular pre-War sports car. Also note the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van off to the side on the grassy verge. In the United States, these utility vehicles are marketed under the Dodge or Freightliner (both owned by Daimler AG) brand names with only a small label affixed to the door which reads, "Powered by Mercedes-Benz." No grille star on the USA specification vans either.

The Gaisburg Hill Climb!

Sarah Taylor in the 220S Ponton cabriolet. Note the Type W189 300d "Adenauer" limousine in the background.

1930 Mercedes-Benz Type 710 SS cabriolet with a 6 cylinder, 7065 cc engine. Also, a 1962 Type W111 220SEb Fintail sedan prepared by the factory.

1930 Mercedes-Benz Type 710 SS cabriolet with a 6 cylinder, 7065 cc engine.

These appear to be model S (supercharged) Mercedes from the 1920s. The merger of Daimler and Benz was in 1926, so the cars were called Mercedes, (or Benz) not Mercedes-Benz until after the merge. Note the Type W189 300d "Adenauer" limousine in the background.

Type 220S Ponton cabriolet.

This next set of photos was taken during one of the scenic drives in the hills and mountains of the Salzburg area near the village known as Wolfgangsee.

Type 220S Ponton cabriolet.

There were three “sports cars” produced by Daimler-Benz during the 1953-1962 Ponton era. The 6 cylinder, 2-seater 300SL “Gullwing” coupé (8/1954-5/1957), the 4 cylinder, 2-seater 190SL roadster-cabriolet (5/1955-2/1963), and the 6 cylinder, 2-seater 300SL roadster-cabriolet (8/1957-2/1963). The chassis of the 190SL roadster was of unitary construction like that of the sedans, coupés and cabriolets while the 300SL (both the “Gullwing” and later, the roadster) had a unique light-weight tubular “space frame” on which the body panels were supported. The outward appearance of all the SL (Sports Leicht) roadsters was similar and they remain very popular today. The next three photos are an excellent visual comparison of the different SL models.

Type W121 190SL 4 cylinder, 2 seater roadster-cabriolet (5/1955-2/1963). Jesus Bagues Perez.

6 cylinder Type 300SL roadster-cabriolet (8/1957-2/1963). Carl Kellner & Wolfgang Zwicker.

actory prepared 1962 Type W111 220SEb sedan. John & Jamie Pronker.

Type W189 300d "Adenauer" limousine. Ernst Mueller.

Type W108 sedan and a W107 (R107) roadster. Klaus & Dunja Tomasi.