Mercedes-Benz 190 SL

Design

The 190 SL presented an attractive, more affordable alternative to the exclusive Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, sharing its basic styling, engineering, detailing, and fully independent suspension. Both cars had double wishbones in front and swing axles at the rear. Instead of the 300 SL's expensive purpose-built W198 tubular spaceframe, the 190 SL's structure used a shortened unitary floorpan modified from the W121 base saloon.

The 190 SL was powered by a new, slightly oversquare 105 PS Type M121 BII 1.9 L straight-four SOHC engine. Based on the 300 SL's straight six, it had an unchanged 85 mm bore and 4.3 mm reduced 83.6 mm stroke, was fitted with twin-choke dual Solex carburetors, and produced gross 120 hp. In detuned form, it was later used in the W120 180 and W121 190 models.

The car was available either as a soft-top convertible (initially priced at DM 16,500/US$3,998) or with removable hardtop (DM 17,650/$4,295). A small third-passenger transverse seat was optional. During its first years the 190 SL was available as a sports-racing model with small perspex windscreen and spartan one-piece leather covered bucket seats and aluminium doors. In 1959, the hardtop's rear window was enlarged.

The performance of 190SL left to be desired, with its top speed of around 170 km/h (105 mph) and 0-100 acceleration time of roughly 14 seconds, especially as Porsche based across town in Zuffenhausen would soon come out with the updated A-model of its 356, which in the 1600S trim, had a 87 hp engine, 30 hp weaker than the 190SL but offset by its mere 850 kg weight, thus making it equal in performance to 190SL, at DM 3,000 cheaper price. Therefore, Rudolf Uhlenhaut envisioned a six-cylinder engine for the car. In 1956, a few six-cylinder prototypes were built for testing. A 190SL with a unique engine, using the 300SL block, squeezed into the engine bay with a one-off mix of Benz-bin parts was entered in the 1956 Alpine Rally, but the costs of production would be prohibitive. Two other prototypes, fitted with fuel injected M180 220SE engines were baptised the W127 / 220SL. In June 1956, Rudi Uhlenhaut and Karl Kling lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in the two W127s 25 seconds faster than a regular 190SL. On 12 April 1957, MB's board decided to build the W127, six-cylinder 220SL alongside the 190SL, but production challenges postponed manufacturing until it was overtaken by the Mercedes-Benz 230SL 'Pagoda'.

Both the 190 SL and the 300 SL were replaced by the 230SL in 1963.

''Super-Leicht'' or ''Sport-Leicht''

Mercedes-Benz did not announce what the abbreviation "SL" meant when the car was introduced.

It is often assumed that the letters stand for Sport Leicht. One car magazine in 2012 declared that the abbreviation "SL" - "securitized and personally signed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut" meant Super Leicht. This contradicts another source, written in close cooperation with Rudolf Uhlenhaut, which stated that the abbreviation meant Sport Leicht.

Mercedes-Benz used both forms until 2017. It was even called Super Super. On the company website it was called Sport Leicht until 2017 and then changed to Super Leicht.

For a long time it was unclear what intention the company had at the time when assigning the letter combination. It was not until the beginning of 2017 that a chance finding in the corporate archive, from the early part of 1952, clarified that at least in the case of the 300 SL the abbreviation SL stood for Super-Leicht.

Technical data

References

References

1. Oswald, Werner. (2001). "Deutsche Autos 1945–1990, Band 4". Motorbuch Verlag.
2. (2002). "RitzSite Mercedes-Benz 190 SL 1955–1963; page 2". Ritzsite.net.
3. (28 October 1966). "Used cars on test:1960 Mercedes-Benz 190SL Coupé".
4. Covello, Mike. (2002). "Standard Catalog of Imported Cars 1946–2002". Krause Publication.
5. "1955 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL Specs Review (77 kW / 105 PS / 103 hp) (since May 1955 for Europe )".
6. "Howstuffworks "1955-1963 Mercedes-Benz 190SL Road Tests"".
7. [https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1955-1963-mercedes-benz-190sl5.htm 1950s Mercedes-Benz 190SL Development. HowStuffWorks]
8. [https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1955-1963-mercedes-benz-190sl6.htm Mercedes-Benz W127. HowStuffWorks]
9. Übler, Jochen. (19 April 2012). "Trimm's Leicht".
10. (1999). "Mercedes-Benz 300 SL".
11. Lingnau, Gerold. (2002). "300SL – Die Ikone wird fünfzig".
12. [http://media.daimler.com/marsMediaSite/ko/de/9904191 media.dailercom]; ''Motorsport als Zündfunke: Der Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Rennsportwagen der Baureihe W 194 (1952–1953), aufgerufen am 25. Juli 2017''.
13. Foto: [http://img.zeit.de/mobilitaet/2017-04/dokument-sl/wide__660x371__desktop Dokument des Namenvorschlags] in: ''Die Zeit'', 14. April 2017.