Mercedes-Benz 280 SL 1969 Retro Review

Retro flair
The saying goes that you should never drive your dream car.

The 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SL Pagoda, a timeless tribute to post-war manufacturing, was never on this correspondent’s short list. But it is after driving one.

For those who do lust after this 1960s pin-up, or for that matter the better-known, more expensive 300 SL Gullwing that shares a similar lineage, this is one of those rare instances where the rose-tinted glasses and critical acclaim actually align – despite the tyranny that is age.Time usually undoes all that is great, mechanically. It hurts durability, it makes once-proud machines arthritic and creaky, and contextually, it tends to embarrass them against more advanced contemporaries. This is especially a case in point when cutting-edge technologies of the day - mechanical fuel injection, single overhead cam, vacuum-operated accessories – were fitted from the factory in Stuttgart.

The 280SL simply enamours. Driving one in today’s age makes you wonder where car makers went wrong. It’s a sweetheart; an evocative throwback to simpler times, but with air-conditioning.

Collector heaven
The 280 SL series was produced between 1967 and 1971, effectively squeezing between the production cycles of the 250 SL and 350 SL.

The car’s ‘Sports Light’ badge carries more literal meaning than the car in tow on this sunny California day, the modern equivalent (and 1600kg) Mercedes-AMG SLC43. Another distinct nod to the 280 SL’s pedigree is its timeless “pagoda” roof.

The moniker was applied on the 1963-71 SL pagoda because the optional detachable hardtop had a thin, slightly-concaved centre panel bracketed on both sides by pillars. The work of Mercedes-Benz safety engineer Béla Barényi, who wanted to bolster the roof structure in the event of a rollover, the design also proved handsome and svelte, especially when viewed head-on. It might suggest why the pagoda option was so appealing; some 48,912 SL variants of this shape were sold worldwide.

You can imagine the trepidation around actually driving a 280 SL on the road today, especially when modern values are approaching $AU200,000. But in sunny Santa Monica, a moving museum of some of the finest metal produced, the pagoda fits right in. Its sinewy lines and beguiling profile create enough attention to turn heads, without stopping traffic like surrounding machinery including a Ferrari F40 and an original Ford GT.

Turning the key invokes a reassuring thrum from the 2.8-litre naturally-aspirated six-cylinder engine. An obligatory waft of old car fumes soon blankets the cabin, re-affirming that we’re driving something special.

The reverse-layout four-speed automatic shifts into gear without fuss, and our self-proscribed ‘Shirley’ tinkers away from a standstill as if we’ve rolled back time to the Nixon administration, pre-Watergate.

The SL’s lumpy idle at 750rpm builds to a smooth and surprisingly vigorous resolve as the needle climbs the tacho. The gearbox shifts ratios at 3000rpm, at a speed not too dissimilar to today’s torque-converter units. A strong degree of mechanical sympathy eventually relaxes as we learn the SL’s brakes, steering and ride in fact gleam on the road, like its paintwork.

Perhaps all of this lust is owed to the fact our particular example has been in the hands of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Centre USA in Irvine, California. There is a newness to the cabin, mechanicals and exterior that suggests this particular 280 SL, with 97,047 miles on the clock, has had more than a light ‘going-over’ by the 22-man team. It hasn’t undergone the full, 3000-hour restoration, but it’s tidy nonetheless.

Plush and primed
Competency. It’s probably an oversubscribed term in car assessment, but it fits the bill here perfectly.

The 280 SL is competent on the road, be it in the spritely 130kW power delivery, through the corners or over challenging road surfaces. Even the suspension wafts over imperfections, the springy bucket seats essentially adding another layer of cushioning between road and driver.

The wirey steering wheel requires more twirling than modern day tillers, but manages to get the job done, while servo-assisted four-wheel disc brakes provide ample stopping power and are faithfully modulated through the pedal during a sharp downhill descent. So much so, the nose porpoises during heady applications.

Motoring journalists probably have a lot to answer for here. Whereas modern convertibles buck, scuttleshake and shimmy over imperfections, owing partly to a desire for larger wheels, a lower stance and greater cornering ability, the 280SL simply breathes with speed, rolling gently into corners, gripping and exhibiting modest but competent levels of agility.

Stepping out of the 280 SL and into its modern equivalent, the SLC43, it is obvious that sound and bump absorption traits do tend to suffer at the hands of styling, larger wheels and synthetic exhaust notes nowadays.

Safety, on the other hand, has proved exponentially, as evidenced by the SLC’s suite of active and passive safety functions and considerably vaster construction. That said, there is something equally appealing about the 280 SL’s light, airy cabin and refreshingly simple dashboard layout.

There are four cars between five drivers on this stunning California day. No guesses which one was most fought over during each driver change.

The 280 SL is an automotive icon – and that statement rings true now more than ever.

1969 Mercedes-Benz 280 SL pricing and specifications:
Price: $10,234 (when new), about $200,000 today
Engine: 2.8-litre six-cylinder petrol
Output: 130kW/240Nm
Transmission: Four-speed automatic
Fuel: N/A
CO2: N/A
Safety Rating: N/A

2017 Mercedes-AMG SLC 43 pricing and specifications:
Price: $132,615 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder twin-turbocharged petrol
Output: 270kW/520Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 180g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP