Ask ANY SPORTS CAR ENTHUSIAST what he considers to be the best, most desirable sports car in the world, and chances are better than even that he’ll say Mercedes 300-SL without hesitation. This answer will, naturally, bring on cries of dismay and snorts of indignation from Ferrari and/or Aston Martin boosters.

The basis for each person’s argument is, to a certain extent, one of personal taste or preference, and may have been based on personal contact with one or more of the best-ranked cars, but more likely it is the result of company prestige and reputation For no matter what racing does or does not do to Improve the breed, it does build prestige for a. Company with-a successful racing department, viz., Ferrari, Porsche and Daimler-Benz And who’s to say that racing hasn’t Improved these cars?

This is the third example of the 300-SL series to be tested by Road & Track: the 300-SL “gullwing” coupe in 1955, the 300-SL roadster in 1958 and now the 300-SL roadster with removable hardtop.

Changes and improvements have been minor (on the surface) m the last three years, but have made a good car better by constant refinement and attention to detail. Exterior appearance and interior appointments are virtually identical to the car tested three years ago.

Speaking of appearance, few will quarrel with the businesslike looks of the 300-SL. The lines are “soft,” yet leave no doubt as to the car’s purpose. It signifies power and speed as few designs do, and the appearance seems to appeal equally to men and women, even though it is a man’s car (more on this later). We prefer the older “gullwing” coupe to the roadster, but this is strictly a matter of personal choice, as there’s little real difference in over-all appearance.

In designing the roadster, the complex space frame of the coupe was retained but was altered around the cockpit area so lower doorsills could be utilized. This makes getting in and out a bit easier, especially for members of the fair sex, who sometimes wear skirts, even in sports cars, and who don’t seem to have any trouble in getting the owners of these cars to take them for a ride. We still found it to be somewhat awkward getting into the 300-SL (old age?), but very much worth the effort.

The 4-wheel independent suspension—unequal length A-arms In front, low-pivot swing axle in the rear—is unchanged from our test car of three years ago and is similar to that of all 300-SLs built since 1952. The major change has been in the rear suspension where the low-pivot design was adopted at the same time as the body change from coupe to roadster. Springs are coil all around and shock dampers are tubular hydraulic.

The interior appointments of the 300-SL are in keeping with the five figure price tag and have successfully separated this car from the category of stark functionalism fitting the die-hard sports car enthusiast’s ideas of what a sports car should be. Due to the car’s de luxe interior, and the relatively heavy weight (which is rather far afield from the company’s designation of SL, meaning Super Light) we would actually classify the add as a Grand Touring car, rather than a sports car. And what grand touring it is!

The individual, upholstered-in-leather, bucket seats are comfortable almost to a fault, very successfully limiting side movement of driver and passenger. A time or two, during our more exuberant dashes through the mountains, we felt the need for seat belts, but then both members of the test crew have belts in their own cars and are used to them.

A pleasant touch, which more cars should have, and a result of the competition experience of Daimler-Benz, was the perforated upholstery which allows a certain amount of air circulation through the seat cushion, thereby cooling the driver’s derriere. Some upholstery material does not “breathe” and on a hot day the car’s occupants end up sitting in wet seats.

The loudest noise to be heard from this ultra silent car is the whir of the injector pump as the ignition key is turned on. A few additional degrees of rotation (of the key) actuates the starter and the engine bursts into life. We had some trouble starting the car after it had been sitting all night, but this was largely due to inexperience with the car and its fuel injection system. Normal starts were made with no trouble at all and we know of no owner who has regular trouble starting his own car unless he has let it get badly out of tune.

Getting underway in ordinary traffic or striving for maximum acceleration proved to be easy and the clutch always had a firm, smooth bite. Never during our test did we experience difficulty with the clutch in any way. Even after the acceleration tests it was still smooth and positive.

The transmission also proved to be as we remembered it: quick, positive and easy to shaft with the lever falling conveniently to hand. All four well-spaced ratios have synchromesh, and shifting up or down was accomplished with a minimum of fuss and effort.

The steering is another matter. To be sure, it is positive and direct, and the wheel is positioned in such a manner that most drivers can and a seating position to suit themselves, but the steering is incredibly stiff. Getting the car in or out of a parking place was real work. Leaving town and driving on an expressway eased the burden and the steering seemed to lighten up. From the thruways onto rural roads, and finally hilly country, brought out the stiffness of the steering once again.

There are few cars in the world that can match the feeling of confidence one gets from driving the 300-SL. Curves can be taken at what seem impossible speeds, and although we did provoke a good deal of oversteer on some curves, it was only due to the car being driven at close to its limit. Under ordinary, or merely fast, driving conditions the attitude of the car is virtually that of a neutral steerer. The wonderful suspension and roadability of the 300-SL make its hard steering even more regrettable.

One of the most important requirements of any car, and particularly a car built for high sustained speeds, as the Mercedes is, is that of adequate brakes. Obviously a car can’t, or shouldn’t anyway, be driven faster than its brakes will allow it to be driven safely. In this respect the 300-SL scores very well. We found it almost impossible to fade the brakes and believe that it would take very brutal treatment to cause the car to run out of brakes. The new Mercedes-Benz 220-SE is equipped with Girling disc brakes on the front, the first car from Mercedes to be to equipped, and recent news has been received from Daimler-Benz to the effect that the front drums on the 300-SL will be replaced with Dunlop discs

Our test car’s drums were of aluminum with cast-iron liners. The drums are radially finned, more for strength than for cooling, although the fins would help to dissipate heat to some extent. Brakes are outboard all around in contrast to the 300-SLR and W-196 racing cars where they were mounted inboard to further reduce unsprung weight.

Our acceleration times were just a shade slower than the times we recorded during the previous 300-SL test, which we’re sure is partly due to the fact that Paul O’Shea drove the car on the previous test runs. He was better able to extract the most the car had to offer. Any driver, however, novice or pro, can wring enough performance from the 300-SL to astound his friends (and probably himself).

Aside from the heavy steering, the only objectionable feature we found was the limited headroom under the hard top. Only one person on our staff could sit up straight in the driver’s seat without his head touching the top lining. The top does have its advantages, however. It is removable, albeit not quickly, and it is vented at the back, over the rear window, so the Interior temperature can be controlled by the fresh air Intake and/or the heater without opening the side windows

The 300-SL is an expensive car and its value in relation to its cost can only be balanced by the purchaser’s desire/ability-to-pay ratio To those who can afford the initial cost it offers a car they can be proud of, and they will be secure in the knowledge that not many cars on the road are better built or can cover ground faster with as much safety.