Introduced at the 1954 New York Motor Show, the Mercedes- Benz 190SL Roadster was displayed alongside the dazzling new 300SL Gullwing coupe as a less expensive alternative. The 190SL shared the 300SL’s styling in a more compact design incorporating Mercedes-Benz’s typically sophisticated engineering in a new OHC inline-4 engine, front double wishbone and rear swing-axle suspension, and racing-inspired drum brakes. The gem-like 1959 190SL Roadster offered here was commissioned new by FA D.B.N.A. Los Angeles on April 13, 1959, and later imported new into the United States by Daimler-Benz of North America at Rockefeller Center, New York, on April 23, 1959. According to its factory data card and special-order supplemental build sheet, this Mercedes-Benz 190SL Roadster was delivered new in a rare two-tone paint scheme of DB40 Black with a DB180 Silver hardtop over a 1079 Red leather interior with red carpets. Other options included a rare transverse rear jump seat, Becker radio and an extremely rare No. 708 Grey rubberized “gummist” soft top. As documented in the accompanying January/February 2016 issue of the 190SL Enthusiast Magazine, a publication of The International 190SL Group, an Anaheim, California, businessman owned and drove the car for several years before parking it in 1978 due to a mechanical failure. The car remained untouched in a garage until his survivors sold the car in 2014. Though the 190SL was in need of a great deal of work, it was a completely original black plate California car showing no rust and only one very minor ding in the nose. After moving the car to his own garage and starting to work on the project himself, the new owner realized just how big a job it would be to restore the car properly. Through a mutual contact he arranged to have former Can-Am racer and world-renowned Mercedes-Benz expert Lothar Motschenbacher come and inspect the car. A deal was worked out, and Motschenbacher purchased the car and began the process of returning the car to concours standards in its as-delivered specifications. Motschenbacher completed the car’s meticulous nut-and-bolt restoration in 2016, retaining all the original body panels, floors and major mechanical components and ensuring thorough attention to every detail. The car sat on display for several years before recently being fully serviced and test driven. The car has only been driven a sparing 450 miles since its completion, and this superb 190SL Roadster proudly presents in its impeccably finished, as-original color scheme. Though 300SL Roadsters and Gullwings are often subject to a restoration of this caliber, it is extremely rare to find a 190SL that has been restored to a concours level. The car is offered with a restored DB180 Silver large-window hardtop, correct wide whitewall tires and both black and silver hubcap sets. Its documentation includes copies of the factory data cards listing Body No. 9500492 and Engine No. 121921199500978, the original California black license plate, correct tools, bags and jack, and a photographic record of the restoration. Having long emerged from the shadow of its “big brother” 300SL, the 190SL, especially a premium example such as this, has assumed its rightful place in the world of fine collector automobiles.
