Mercedes-Benz 500SL

The successor to Mercedes’ famous SL “Pagoda” sports car was a completely new and modern SL, model designation R107, which remained in production from 1971 to 1989. After the legendary G-Class, it became Mercedes’ second longest-running model. Also known as the “Panzerwagen,” this roadster came in various versions such as the 280 SL, 350 SL, and 450 SL. In 1980, new models were introduced with aluminum alloy V8 engines — the 380 SL, 420 SL, and 500 SL, as well as the 560 SL for the American market.

This car was truly built to last — no metal was spared. As a result, it was quite heavy for a sports car, since Mercedes engineers wanted the convertible to be just as rigid as a hardtop coupe. Due to its weight, it wasn’t especially sporty in terms of driving dynamics. Instead, the focus was on comfort, low noise levels, and luxury. Perhaps the only true sports car of the series was the most powerful model — the 500 SL, with 232 DIN horsepower. It reached a top speed of 230 km/h and could accelerate to 100 km/h in about 7 seconds — doing so with stoic calm and without fuss.

The 5-liter aluminum alloy V8 with an overhead camshaft was likely one of the most capable engines Mercedes built in the 1980s, and even by today’s standards, it offers an enjoyable driving experience. The last R107 rolled off the production line in Sindelfingen 18 years after the first — and guess what model it was? Of course — a “Astralsilber” (Astral Silver) 500 SL, completed on August 4, 1989, which now resides in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany.

The 500 SL in our possession was purchased a few years ago from Switzerland, having only 96,000 km on the odometer when it arrived in Estonia. The car was in excellent condition, completely original, and in flawless working order. Its full history and service book were included, showing it had a single owner — a construction engineer from Lausanne. This expensive car (which originally cost the equivalent of three W123s) was likely bought from the beginning as a summer car, as was typical in wealthy Switzerland. In its first year, it covered about 10,000 km, with subsequent annual mileage between 1,000 and 3,000 km. Still, maintenance was done regularly, and the car had always been garage-kept.

After a few years of active use in Estonia and appearances at several classic car events, some minor visual flaws — and one larger issue — started to stand out. The front right fender had previously been damaged and poorly repaired. After closer inspection, we decided to replace the fender with a new original part. During removal, we also discovered a few rust spots, wear and tear, and several dents on the body. As is often the case, this led to the decision to carefully disassemble the entire car, inspect everything, repair or replace where needed, repaint the body inside and out, and reassemble it with new seals and trim.

During the process, we fully restored the complex bumpers and re-galvanized all bolts, nuts, and fasteners. Initially, we planned to remove all the old paint, but it turned out that this car had an exceptionally thick and high-quality factory paint layer, already using 2-component acrylic materials. So instead, we carefully sanded off the clear coat and paint layers, leaving the primer intact where possible.

The impact on the front fender had extended into the door and front part of the rear quarter panel, so those areas required proper repair as well — finished with lead filler for authenticity. The cleaned and sanded body was first coated with Standox NON-Stop Füllprimer. All minor filler work was done on top of this layer. For the sanding primer, we used the new Standox VOC Xtra Füller, which provides an exceptionally strong and even surface and is pleasant to work with before painting.

For the color coat, we used modern Standoblue basecoat — the same system now used by Mercedes' official restoration department in Stuttgart. The result turned out beautifully!

The 500 SL is unique in that it was the only model in the R107 series available in a factory two-tone color scheme. The lower half was painted in the dark metallic gray "Neutralgrau," with the rocker panels in a separate semi-matte gray. Because of the multiple shades and transitions, the paintwork required great precision, but as always, our master painter Raul delivered a perfect result.