Published On : Jan 09, 2012
Image Copyright : Mercedes Benz
Mercedes Benz 300 SL 1952
The origins of the SL class are rooted in motor racing: in the early 1950s, Mercedes-Benz developed the 300 SL racing car (model series W194). This, the grandfather of all SLs, undertook its initial test drives in November 1951 on the Solitude circuit just outside Stuttgart, as well as on the Nürburgring and the Hockenheimring. The vehicle was introduced to an awestruck press on 12 March 1952, on the autobahn between Stuttgart and Heilbronn.