1964 Mercedes-Benz W113 230SL

An early right-hand drive 230 SL W113 pagoda finished in white with a sensational red contrasting interior. Unusually there’s a gear lever between the seats and three pedals, this being a four-speed manual car. That might have been the standard option when these were new; however, most buyers selected the automatic alternative. With its low odometer reading of just 34,366 miles, this car’s been well looked after and lived an interesting life, having been overseas in Canada, California and now here in the UK.

Overall, it’s in excellent condition it being a few details off being outstanding. Manual cars are relatively rare and add even more the driving experience. As such we don’t expect this fine example to be hanging around for long.

With its low mileage it’s clearly been a car that’s been enjoyed sparingly, its condition attesting to its previous owners having looked after it. The bodywork is all straight and true, as is the brightwork and the white paint is in good condition, too. Lifting the bonnet reveals more of the same, it’s all clean and tidy under there, meaning it’s unlikely ever to have been used during the winter months when it lived in Vancouver, Canada. From there it headed to California, though as a visitor there, opposed to a lifer, it’s not suffered from the dry cracking of some of the rubbers and plastics that can occur in dry, high temperature state cars. During our inspection we noted the tyres are old and will need replacing. The interior contrasts beautifully with the white paintwork, being finished in a vibrant red. Overall it’s in good condition, but a bit of trimming work around the dashboard cowl would fix the loose material. The folding roof is finished in blue and is in good condition, while the white hardtop is also in fine condition and comes with the car.

There’s a satisfyingly weighty box file that accompanies this car outlining its history, the majority of that being from the late 1980’s onwards, suggesting its earlier paperwork has been misplaced. That’s not uncommon, nor a problem, as the documentation that is present suggests no expense spared on maintaining this car, in whatever part of the world it was located. There’s official paperwork outlining its arrival in the UK, with a number of receipts outlining maintenance work we’ve undertaken here at the SLSHOP.

A low mileage, early RHD 230SL with a manual transmission is a bit of a rare bird, and we don’t doubt it’ll fly out of the showroom because of that. It looks superb in white with its contrasting red interior and is in great condition throughout. Indeed, it’s a few insignificant jobs away from outstanding condition, though, similarly, it’s ready (after some replacement tyres) to be driven and away and enjoyed just as it is.