Her name is Audrey. She is a rare car in the fact that she is the first of the long line of SL's that shared the iconic look of the boxy SL, ut, till has the pagoda roof and bodyline of the famous 60's SL. This body styling only existed for one year, 972...and then in 1973 it all evolved, o a much boxier flank design, s well as several engine options. And then on to the official engine designation as a 450SL...meaning a 4.5 litre V8. This is one of the rare occasions when Mercedes Benz did not associate a model moniker with the engine size. The 350 SL is a bit of a mystery to most people, ave for MB afficianados, s it has the 350SL model designation, ut is a 4.5 litre V8. Unusual for Mercedes.
I have a title that says that is a 1973 model. I doubted this when I purchased it, o, contacted the Mercedes Center in California, nd they redirected me to the center in Germany, ho correctly coded the VIN as an original 1972 350SL, n a very rare Black on Oatmeal. You are welcome to confirm this information. It is free, nd MB was very helpful. I will correct the title.

So, his car had the benefit of having some of the style cues from the old Pagoda SL, ut with the power of the up and coming SL...and it is a joy to drive. Super comfortable, nd easy to cruise in. The 4.5 litre V8 starts right up every time, nd purrs. The transmission shifts smoothly and with out hesitation. The brakes are just fine...the tires have plenty of life left in them, nd the monobloc wheels are a nice modern touch. You could leave this car alone, nd drive it as is. It has a factory AC that works just fine, long with power windows and a modern stereo, ower brakes, ower steering, nd an automatic trans.
This car will most definitely need paint. However, t will be a simple repaint, s there is only the slightest amount of corrosion on the very top of the tailights, nd that is it. The registration history puts this as a southern car, o, t was never subjected to harsh winters. I do have some service records from the previous owner, ut not the entire history. I can say that it starts right up and is a joy to drive. The soft top will also need replacing at some point...it was poorly done by the previous owner, lthough the frame for the soft top is fine.
So, s it a "blue chip" Mercedes? Im not sure, ut if you check Hagerty and Martins, hese cars have been trending upwards, pecific to this year/ model, s it becomes clear that they are an unusual model. This was a car that was more or less, rom what I can gather, stop-gap model year. In any case, he is a joy to drive.