There is no technical definition for what makes a car a supercar, and as such, there will always be some disagreement about what car should be considered the first to have reached this status. There is no shortage of possible contenders, but the biggest debate is between the Lamborghini Miura and this, the Mercedes-Benz 300SL.
The 300SL was derived from a race car by the same name, which is noteworthy because it is usually the other way around, with race cars being built out of existing road-going models. It’s usually too difficult to go in the other direction, especially when you’re talking about a car that had overall wins at Le Mans, the Nurburgring and the Carrera Panamericana. But, in the ’50s, road cars and track cars weren’t so divorced from one another that it was impossible.
The idea for a Grand Prix car that was repurposed for road use was pitched to Mercedes by the Austrian-born, but New York-based importer and car dealer Max Hoffman, who would also go on to suggest several successful cars to Porsche. Because of this, the car debuted at the New York Auto Show, a first for a Mercedes product, and was instantly the hit of the show.
Continue reading to learn more about the Mercedes 300SL Gullwing.
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