Following strong advocacy of the concept by Max Hoffman, the legendary Mercedes-Benz United States representative; it was at the 1954 New York Auto Show that the 190SL prototype made its debut. This version had early dash instrumentation, eyebrows over the front fenders and an air scoop on the hood. Production examples took more than a year to appear, with the first arriving at the 1955 Geneva Auto Show.

With a significantly lower price tag than the 300SL it began to outsell its ‘big brother’ by about eight to one. As it turned out, the engineering on the cars was remarkable and ahead of anything else in the under two-liter class. A strong overhead-cam engine, aluminum panels and fully independent suspension on all four wheels ensured good performance.

The Mercedes-Benz 190SL was designed fundamentally for driver and passenger pleasure. As a sports car of this period, it was a high performance machine with particular emphasis placed on road characteristics, and employed this with precise steering in the strong engineering package.

The beautiful styling of this 190SL is complemented by the classic period colors of white with red interior and is nicely accented inside by the white steering wheel and dash fascia. Powered by the respected 1,891-cc, 120-hp inline overhead cam six-cylinder engine with Weber carburetors and paired with a four-speed manual transmission; it’s a more than stylish way to enjoy open air motoring in one of the best models of the era. A period AM radio, VDO instrumentation, color-keyed factory wheel trim and thinline whitewall tires are among the correct accents.

At the time of production, you could virtually count on your fingers the number of marques in the world that could provide this type caliber of craftsmanship and, for a sports car, appointments of this luxury.