1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SL Pagoda

The Mercedes 280SL "Pagoda' was introduced in December 1967 and continued in production through until February 1971.The W113 was then replaced by its successor, the entirely new and substantially heavier R107 350SL. Over the years, the W113 evolved from a "sports car' into a comfortable "grand tourer', and was usually equipped with the 4-speed automatic transmission and air conditioning. The obvious change from its predecessor was the upgrade to the 2778cc M130 engine, which purists will tell you, finally gave the Pagoda adequate power. Now suitably refined, the car proved popular in the US market, however we've seen a significant increase in demand here in the UK, partly due to the 190SL rising beyond the budgets of many.

This 280SL is offered from the collection of a prominent Irish businessman, who, having retired to southern Europe, now only has limited amount of safe storage for his many toys. He has owned this car for a number of years, is only the second owner having acquired the vehicle from a Beverley Hills showroom, and tells us that the car performs and drives as you would expect, with no known faults or shortcomings. The paintwork is in good condition and is in the unusual colour of Champagne which compliments the Brown interior beautifully. The car has worn over-rugs in the foot wells so the carpets remain in exemplary order. The dashboard shows no sign of fading and cracking as we often see on cars of this nature. It further benefits from the addition of a Nardi steering wheel which really looks the part. The body-coloured hardtop is in very good order, matching that of the car so they each share similar patina. The soft-top too was replaced a handful of years ago, and is reportedly in fine condition.

In all, this is a fine example of a fast-appreciating motor car. In standard specification and offered with Irish registration documents this fine Pagoda is sensibly guided today and should provide many more years of happy classic motoring.