If you are fortunate enough to own one of the 1,858 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadsters built between 1957 and 1963 (with 1,458 known to still exist as of the mid-1990s), you understand what an extraordinary machine it is, especially for its time. And if yours is a first-year 1957, it is one of just 618 that rolled out of the Untertürkheim plant for that model year.
But what if it is one of just 27 or 28 Roadsters estimated to be factory-equipped with optional Rudge knock-off wheels before they were outlawed that year? Or even, apparently, one-of-one built with the short-lived “Elimination of Bumpers” factory option?
“While it was not uncommon for 300SL owners to remove the bumpers for a sportier look, or to reduce weight for racing,” says Dr. Lorenzo Triana, this rare beauty’s proud owner, “the apertures for the bumper supports would still be visible in the body. But this one had no openings for bumpers in its body when it left the factory. To date, this option has not been found on any other 300SL Roadster manufactured between 1957 and 1963.”
Dr. Triana points out that the first-edition 1957 300SL Roadster dealer brochure lists this no-bumpers option and contains a drawing of a bumperless Roadster. But that drawing is not shown in the two following editions of the brochure, he asserts. “The look of the car is so different without the bumpers. You can take the bumpers off any car, but you would still have holes in the chassis and body. There are no holes in this car.”
On top of all that, he learned just last year that his unique Roadster was purchased new in Frankfurt by Hans J. Zimmer, a well-known German engineer and inventor who was a leader in the development of synthetic fibers and by 1960 held some 327 patents worldwide. Zimmer bought the car on Sept. 18, 1957, just six days after the birth of his only son (also named Hans), who grew up to become the famous Oscar-winning music composer. “Unfortunately, Zimmer, Sr. died six years later while jogging,” Triana relates, “which was naturally traumatic to Hans, Jr. In fact, he has openly talked about how this loss inspired and influenced him in composing the music score for The Lion King, for which he won an Oscar.”
Recapping the history
As Mercedes-Benz aficionados well know, the 300SL was produced as a coupe with iconic Gullwing doors (to aid entry and exit over its tall, thick side sills) from 1954 to 1957 and then as a Roadster from 1957 to 1963. Based on the company's 1952 W194 racer, the 300SL was an awesome race car and probably the fastest production car of its time. Its top speed of 163 mph was largely thanks to its 250-horsepower 3.0-liter overhead-cam straight-six engine, with direct mechanical fuel injection. “SL” stands for super-leicht (super-light), a reference to its race-bred tube frame construction.
The price for the 300SL Coupe in Germany was DM 29,000, $6,820 in the U.S., while the Roadster sold for DM 32,500 or $10,950. A total of 3,258 300SLs were built, comprising 1,400 1954-57 Coupes and 1,858 1957-63 Roadsters.
Triana's story
Triana bought this car in 1985, and he has added some 20,000 miles to its odometer while it has been in his care for the past 37 years. However, it's only in the last four years that he discovered how truly special it is. In 2005, he ordered a copy of his car's build sheet from Mercedes-Benz. “At that time,” he relates, “if you showed them your title, they would send it to you for free. Then last summer, I decided to order another one to see if there was anything new on it. They charged me $150 and the one they sent had been torn in half, then put back together with the numbers not exactly aligned. But they accidentally included Hans Zimmer's name as the original purchaser. For privacy purposes, they don't ever give you the original owner’s name, but all of a sudden, I saw his name on it, so now I'm glad I spent that 150 bucks! I researched Hans Zimmer and learned about him and his son, and that part of this car’s story makes it especially cool.”
Triana’s father grew up in Cuba, saw 300SLs run in a couple of Cuban Grand Prix races there in the late 1950s, and fell in love with them. “Dad always talked about that,” Triana recalls, “and one day he was going through the San Antonio newspaper and said, ‘Hey, take a look at this, a 300SL Roadster!’ We went to see it, and the guy was a local banker who had a couple of 190SLs that he had rebuilt, and he had just brought this car from California. He told us it had been raced, and he did not want to put the money into restoring it that he knew he would have to. That's how I ended up with it.”
The car was actually in fairly nice shape, good mechanically, and very drivable. “I was younger then, and single, and it was the car I would take out at night. We would go to the club, and they would valet park it right in front. One night, actor Charlie Sheen showed up, saw the car and offered to buy it. He had a friend with the San Antonio Spurs and happened to be in the same club, and he came up and said, ‘I will buy this car from you.’ As his assistant pulled out his checkbook, Sheen said, ‘I'll give you $75,000 for it right here.’ I laughed it off. I told my mom about it the next day, and she said, ‘How could you not sell it for $75,000?’ I relate that story when people ask what I would sell it for now. I tell them I didn't take $75,000 from Charlie Sheen back then, and I'm going to hold onto it for now.”
When Triana bought this car, it was white with a black interior, and he assumed that combination was original. “But the build sheet said it was grey and blue. And when I looked more closely at some areas, including the corners of the leather, sure enough, it had been blue. The interior needed the most work initially. We didn't have anything then to show what was supposed to go in there…this type of carpet or that type…so we did the best we could.
After I joined the Gullwing Group about four years ago and started connecting with people like Art Thumwood of Star Classics in Georgia, a well-known member who specializes in acquiring parts for these cars, we learned what it was supposed to look like, and we've been able to restore it to its original look. When Triana sent Thumwood a copy of the build sheet, he says, “it became really interesting. First, one major factor in the pricing of these cars is whether they have the Rudge wheels. We think fewer than 30 came with those wheels from the factory. You'll see more out there but only that few from the factory because they outlawed them in 1957. Second, when Art looked at the build sheet, he asked me, ‘What is this thing about elimination of bumpers? That is a very strange option. I have never seen it in any build sheet for a Roadster.’ We both researched that, and it turns out to be the biggest thing that makes this car so special.”
He adds that you can't take the rear bumper off a road-going 300SL because the license plate mounts to it. “But this car has a special set-up for the license plate, and the only cars that had that before the 300SL Gullwing were W194 and W196 race cars. For driving on U.S. roads, I've made a special bracket that uses the same holes to mount an American plate.”
Triana paid $35,000 for his 300SL in 1985 and says he has invested probably $200K in its restoration. Will Samples of S&S Imports in Dallas, TX completed the mechanical restoration, and Steve Crowley of Steve Crowley Restorations (also in Dallas) did the body and paint work.
Winning at Amelia
When he showed the car at the March, 2022 Amelia Concours d’Elegance (its first show appearance), Triana's 300SL earned Amelia’s Craftsman Phil Hill Restorers Award. “That was a beautiful experience,” he enthuses. “What made it particularly fun was that so many people wanted to know about the car, especially those who know these cars, and other restorers. I did not get to walk around and look at the whole field because of all the people stopping by and asking questions. It was such a positive feeling. My family was there, and two of the guys who worked on it: Art Thumwood and Steve Crowley. Some of the judges there were experts on these cars, and one who knew a lot of 300SL history said he had never seen a bumperless Roadster.”
Why did Zimmer, Sr. order the car without bumpers? Most likely because he intended to race it, Triana believes. “As we've done the mechanical restoration, judging by the mechanical wear and tear on it, there seems no doubt that it was raced hard. The verbal history of the car said it was raced, but we have not been able to find any record or hard evidence of that. So, I hope to eventually be able to get in touch with Hans, Jr. who maybe can connect some dots as to why his dad would have ordered it this way and whether he raced it.”
One interesting modification was that someone had moved the gas filler to inside the trunk. “The only thing we've been able to figure out,” Triana speculates, “is that these race cars back in the day had big fuel tanks in the trunk with the filler necks coming out through the decklid. But the current decklid does not have a hole in it, so if someone did that, they may have bought a separate one. When I finished the most recent mechanical restoration, I moved the filler neck back to its original position.”
Is Triana a collector? Does he have other cars? “I do not consider myself a collector,” he says, “but I do have a 1972 Bentley that I enjoy. I've had that for 30 years. And my everyday car is a Hummer H2. That's one reason I'm interested in the new electric Hummer.”
Every 300SL enthusiasts should hope to see Triana's 300SL again in the future, and with the excitement generated by the discovery of its history, it seems certain we've not seen the last of this unique Mercedes-Benz.
