1978 Mercedes-Benz 450SL Coupe/Roadster

1978 MERCEDES-BENZ 450SL COUPE/ROADSTER #107-044-12-048518. (Stock #4236.)  The fabulous “107” body style “SL” by Mercedes-Benz was introduced as a 1972  350SL, followed the next year with a 450SL designation. The body style won instant acclaim among Mercedes-Benz  afficienados  and the general public alike. Fitted with the V-8 engine just introduced in 1972,  the car had substantially more power than the 4-and 6-cylinder road cars which went before and offered such creature comforts as air conditioning, cruise control and power windows, all while keeping the classic Mercedes-Benz roadster   body design.  Although basically a 2-seater sports car, a “kinder” seat could be ordered to allow two smallish humans to sit in the rear. Our car was ordered from Powers Motor Company in Morristown, NJ  as a graduation gift for a local couples’ daughter in 1978 and was ordered in the traditional German racing color of silver (with matching detachable hard top) with a navy blue interior (matching the convertible top). It was equipped with the options of  the special rear kinder seat and the top-of-the-line Becker Mexico signal-seeking AM-FM stereo. The car has been driven as a fair-weather since new  by that original owner and has averaged @1,000 miles per year of fair weather driving.  It has been kept in fabulous condition throughout and is completely original except for  a  respray of  the car in its original silver, when the factory paint developed the ageing lines typical of silver paints of the era, and a careful replacement of the original stereo system with an updated   AM-FM/ CD  stereo. For collectors, the original German unit has been kept with the car along with all original manuals and tools. An extremely rare find with 23,811 careful  one-owner miles. $33.250.