SL-Class (R129) Modern classics: the Mercedes-Benz SL of the R 129 series

[Der Hofmeister]

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Stuttgart, Germany, Feb 22, 2010

Modern classics: the Mercedes-Benz SL of the R 129 series (1989 - 2001)

- Design icon and innovation champion in one
- The Mercedes-Benz SL models are among the most inflation-proof vehicles
- A pleasure with the top up or down

Quite a few cars from Mercedes-Benz are modern classics right from the beginning. Every model of the SL series is one: the series was established in 1954 by the 190 SL, which the company explicitly described as a touring sports car. At the same time the 300 SL Gullwing was presented, which can be put in the super sports car category. The fourth SL generation was the R 129 series built from 1989 to 2001, which set standards with its design and its many innovations.

The design was the work of Bruno Sacco. It presents itself with the clear lines and strong sense of composure that characterises the appearance of Mercedes-Benz vehicles from the outgoing 1980s well into the 1990s. In the case of the SL series this is complemented by the attributes of a touring sports car – long bonnet, two seats, compact rear end, all packed into a slightly wedge-shaped body: it all goes to make the SL an icon on wheels that signals dynamism and sportiness, but also comfort and elegance as well. The perfection of its design was recognised early on: in 1990 the R 129 series was the recipient of the Car Design Award.

A driver of an SL makes a statement: it's like travelling in assured style in an elegant, well-tailored suit. That the car is extremely comfortable and makes even long journeys pleasant is simply taken for granted – and enjoyed every kilometre of the way.

The high technological standard includes the recognised high safety level which the Mercedes-Benz engineers give the vehicles for the road. In the R 129 series this standard is manifested, for example, in the automatic roll-over bar which pops up in just 0.3 seconds when the car threatens to overturn. Or in the integral seat featuring some 20 patented detailed solutions, which absorbs energy in a side impact and incorporates among other things the three-point seat belt with belt tensioner and the belt height adjustment coupled with the head restraint adjustment. The safety features, of course, included a newly designed body which was subjected to the severest crash tests and affords the occupants the highest level of safety.

From the outset the R 129-series SL was available with two six-cylinder engines and an eight-cylinder unit. As a matter of principle, they were fitted with catalytic converter as standard. Over the years the drive units repeatedly were adapted to the latest state of the art. In 1992 the 600 SL with twelve-cylinder engine caused a sensation – the SL entered an entirely new dimension of power. The most popular model in the twelve years in which the SL was built was the 500 SL, an eight-cylinder model.

The possibility of driving an SL with the top down is an important buying criterion for many people. In the R 129 series, for the first time Mercedes-Benz gave the touring sports car an automatic folding soft top that opens and closes within 30 seconds at the push of a button. The innovations included the draught-stop, which enables draught-free open-top motoring and which since then has established itself as the standard throughout the industry. The SL is made fit for year-round operation with the hardtop, which is made of aluminium and is standard equipment in the R 129 series.

A Mercedes-Benz SL in the R 129 series is the ideal modern classic – individual, but fully suitable for everyday use, and at the same time stable in value. The brand's service organisation helps keep it that way: almost every part is available as a spare, and perfect maintenance services are ensured. And so this modern classic may one day – perhaps faster than one thinks – become a genuine classic.

Mercedes-Benz-Blog TRIVIA -- A professional look on Mercedes-Benz Heritage & Innovation: Mercedes-Benz-Blog TRIVIA: Modern classics: the Mercedes-Benz SL of the R 129 series - PART II

Source: Mercedes-Benz-Blog TRIVIA -- A professional look on Mercedes-Benz Heritage & Innovation

 

[ree]

The last series looks just perfect. Would love this one in a deep red colour and then beige leather!

 

[Centurion]

What's with all the Minis and F500s in the background?

 

[BVC500]

and the interior shot is not of the real car...it's a model!

 

[Centurion]

and the interior shot is not of the real car...it's a model!

Lol, good eye. Check out the airvents in the car.

 

[shaun81slc]

My wife’s step mom has a 98 sl500 great driving car engine was very strong, though the interior felt kida cheap like a plastic model or something

 

[Merc1]

What a stunning car the R129 was. When introduced it was full of world firsts. First automatic pop-up rollbar system, first 5-speed automatic (300SL), only fully automatic convertible top at the time. Drove like a dream. Then the killer 600SL came along for 1993. R129, W124, and W126, Mercedes-Benz perfection in every way. The true meaning of design.


M

 

[Wolfgang]

 

[ThroughandThrough]

Collectible Classic: 1990-2002 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
Joshua Sadler | Photography by Julia LaPalme
July 30, 2015

If you had to pick one convertible to represent the 1990s, the Mercedes-Benz SL-Class would be the favorite based on its pop-culture profile alone. Cut to Clint Eastwood and Charlie Sheen fearlessly driving a Mercedes 500SL through a couple of warehouse windows in “The Rookie” (1990), with all parties apparently emerging unscathed. “Engineered like no other car,” says Clint. See also William Hurt’s cocky surgeon in “The Doctor” (1991), who indelicately describes his 500SL’s electronically triggered pop-up roll bar as an aphrodisiac: “my electric roll-in-the-hay bar.” Even doomed rappers Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls were fellow aficionados of the SL-Class.

This wasn’t merely crass product placement; it was art imitating life. In Hollywood during the 1990s, if you wanted a top-dollar convertible with equal parts performance, prestige, and engineering excellence, there was the Mercedes-Benz SL, and there was everything else. Even today, this SL is a fixture in the movie business, the choice of aspiring screenwriters on the way up and of worn-out producers on the way down.
The secret to the SL’s appeal in Hollywood during the 1990s was the same formula that endures today. It delivers understated German luxury, reliable powertrains shared with the S-Class sedan (inline-six, V-8, and V-12 in this case), a standard power-operated canvas top, and an optional, externally fitted hardtop that makes the car as weather-tight as a coupe. During an era when exotic cars were comparatively thin on the ground, this SL-Class was the most practical and easiest-to-drive sporting automobile you could buy.

When the fourth-generation SL (known by its engineering code, R129) came to market in the U.S. as a 1990 model, longtime Benz design chief Bruno Sacco singled it out as “the most perfect car” of his career. The squat, long-nosed wedge retains much of its machismo today, particularly when it wears one of the two staggered-width, 18-inch wheel sets from AMG that were offered as options. Underneath, the R129 thankfully keeps a safe distance from the notoriously overengineered W140 S-Class sedan of the same vintage, sharing instead many platform and suspension components with the workhorse W124 E-Class. The R129 stands at the crossroads of the analog and digital worlds, incorporating just enough contemporary electronic technology of our time to feel familiar, but not so much that you can’t work on it yourself. Things will break, and parts are expensive, but fundamentally these cars were built to last. I know. In 2012 I bought a 1998 Mercedes-Benz SL500 with 67,000 miles on it that I still drive today.

Ultimately the R129’s character is defined by what’s under the hood. The first question before you is whether you’re open to the six-cylinder R129, known as either the 300SL (1990-1993) or the SL320 (1994-1997). The former uses a 3.0-liter, DOHC inline-six making 228 horsepower and 201 lb-ft of torque, while the latter has a 3.2-liter enhancement of the same engine with 228 hp but a much-improved 232 lb-ft. You can find some shockingly low prices on pristine six-cylinder models.

Next up is the 500 series, which consists of two distinct 5.0-liter V-8 engines: the hand-built DOHC M119 (1990-1998) that makes 315 hp and 347 lb-ft of torque in its final incarnation and the SOHC M113 (1999-2002) that makes 302 hp and 339 lb-ft of torque. By consensus among enthusiasts at 500benz.com, the M119 is more temperamental, but its longevity is legendary. You’ll see 200,000-mile specimens of this V-8 in classified ads.

Finally, there’s the 600 series (1993-2002), which features the 6.0-liter M120 V-12. Essentially a pair of inline-sixes paired together, this 389-hp, 420 lb-ft monster added a few hundred pounds to the 500’s already ample curb weight, so it didn’t offer much of a performance improvement. From the driver’s seat, however, it’s a different experience from the moment you twist the key. The M120 sounds sublime, humming urgently at idle and ripping effortlessly through the midrange with a velvety intake snarl. But if you want to keep this V-12 running tip-top, you better be prepared. There’s precious little space in the engine bay for hands and tools, and some independent mechanics will be reluctant to undertake major repairs for lack of experience, sentencing you to a four-figure spanking at your Mercedes dealer.

Of course, even modern Mercedes models have a hell of a time holding their value, which brings us to the sorry state of the R129 market. Today, $10,000 gets you a well-maintained specimen of this Mercedes-Benz SL-Class with fewer than 100,000 miles, while $15,000 procures the proverbial cream puff. That’s a bummer for owners who were silly enough to think of this SL-Class as a potential investment, but it’s great news for fans of world-class wheels on the cheap. If you find a R129 that hasn’t been neglected and treat it with care, it should give you years of reasonably faithful service in return. Perhaps you will learn to lunch at Barney’s Beanery in Santa Monica and even sell a screenplay.

Why Buy?

It’s all about the driving. And whether you pick the SL with its letters positioned after the number denoting the engine (1990-1993) or the SL with the letters positioned before the numbers (1994-2002), any well-maintained R129 should provide a dignified driving experience. The ride can be brittle over rough pavement, but on a decent road, the car is a mobile meditation chamber, and meticulous build quality keeps squeaks and rattles to a minimum. Handling? The R129 rolls significantly on initial turn-in as you steer with the vague recirculating-ball system, but the car repays your trust with neutral mid-corner balance (the weight distribution is close to 50/50) and a sense of underlying control. Then you punch the gas and ride that splendidly smooth wave of engine power all the way to redline. You can feel the uncompromising engineering in the way the R129 moves, and this alone is worth the paltry price of admission.

http://www.automobilemag.com/featur...ble-classic-1990-2002-mercedes-benz-sl-class/

 

[Merc1]

I think I'm going to sell off the S500 and get one of these, same era but much sportier. This SL was/is design perfection. It looks so good without any AMG sportswear, even with the smallish wheels shown. This car is pure Mercedes-Benz, Sacco's masterpiece for real.

M

 

[Wunderkind]

I came across and have seriously considered buying a R129 in the last 7-8 years. I was only interested in a late facelifted SL500 or SL600 but the problem was always the same: the deteriorating wiring that wreaks havoc on the various electrical systems in the car.

Mercedes changed the specification for the wiring used on the W140 and R129 to a more environmentally-friendly bio-degradable sort and the rubber coating of the wires and cables is known to perish.

Sadly, it is just not worth the trouble. But the R129 does bring a smile to my face whenever I see one.

 

[Rolf]

This R129 is a wonderful car, I think it is probably the best looking out of all the SL models (after the R107 I mean) and an instant classic it has fantastic proportions and still looks so modern. The interior is built like a bank vault and has superb materials with excellent seats. That time (mid to late 80's) was the best in Mercedes history when they were glorious with timeless design masterpieces and unrivaled build and interior material quality.

 

[DjordjeC63]

Great car!

 

[Merc1]

I came across and have seriously considered buying a R129 in the last 7-8 years. I was only interested in a late facelifted SL500 or SL600 but the problem was always the same: the deteriorating wiring that wreaks havoc on the various electrical systems in the car.

Mercedes changed the specification for the wiring used on the W140 and R129 to a more environmentally-friendly bio-degradable sort and the rubber coating of the wires and cables is known to perish.

Sadly, it is just not worth the trouble. But the R129 does bring a smile to my face whenever I see one.

I just had to replace my W140 S550's blower regulator and battery. Not terribly expensive, but not cheap either. It is amazing how complex yet primitive the R129/W140 cars are.

M

 

[Rolf]

Still probably the best SL of all time. Such a lovely car.