Separated at Birth
A pair of sequentially numbered, very-early production 1954 300SL coupes – one now perfectly restored, one a barn find – are reunited at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance some 65 years after they left the Stuttgart workshops
Article Nate Lander with Gary Anderson
Images Denis L. Tanney • Mercedes-Benz Classic
Originality is a slippery concept in automobile design and manufacturing, especially when a model was rushed to market. But short of going back in time, it can be difficult to know what was original when a particular car was produced. That’s why the two 300SL Gullwings presented in a place of honor at the 2019 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance are so significant and intriguing.
Transforming a racecar
During the 1952 motorsports season, Mercedes-Benz had extraordinary success with the W194 300SL racecar. Convinced that it would sell successfully in the U.S. market, New York sports car distributor Max Hoffman submitted an order for 1,000 units to the Mercedes-Benz board of directors in 1953. Reaction was stunning: Within six months, the first example was shown at the New York International Auto Show on February 6, 1954. In August, the first W198 production 300SL, one of the most complicated sports cars the world had ever seen, was shipped.
Reflecting the short initial design time, significant changes were made during and after the first 50 vehicles were produced. For example, a “gooseneck” gear-shift lever was originally used, the “eyebrow” feature pieces on the fenders were bolted on, and the bumper guards had a squared-off top. At chassis No. 51, a straight gear shift was substituted, the eyebrows became welded-on, and the bumper guards grew rounder.
Many other features that were originally made by hand were replaced by production components. This raises an interesting quandary for restorers today: If the goal is to restore a model from that first group to reflect its exact specs as it came off the assembly line, the challenge is to figure out those original specifications.
Restoration of chassis No. 44
An excellent example is a 300SL, chassis No. 44, produced October 29, 1954; the Classic Center acquired it about two years ago. Having been shown at various U.S. events in 2004, including the 50th anniversary of the Gullwing at Pebble Beach, the car was well-known in the 300SL community.
However, when it was prepared for a complete restoration, many of the unique details the Center’s staff expected to find in this early-production 300SL were missing, such as the gooseneck shifter, which was replaced by the first owner so that a radio and speakers could be added. With the goal of restoring No. 44 to original specifications, there were many things that remained a mystery. Wouldn’t it be useful to have another unit produced about the same time to reference?
A long-lost sibling emerges
It’s an incredible and fortunate coincidence that at about the same time, Classic Center Director Mike Kuntz received a call from his friend Bill Warner, chairman of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. Warner told him that a 300SL Gullwing, which Warner had known about all his adult life and that had been in storage for 53 years, had recently become available. Finished November 11, 1954, the car was chassis No. 43!
Warner told Kunz that the car, to his knowledge last driven in 1965, was in Unit 112 of a nondescript storage facility in the coastal town of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. As a young car enthusiast, Warner first saw the car when he was still in high school.
Dispatched to the Mercedes-Benz distributor in New York City, No. 43 was the first 300SL finished in the beautiful combination of DB350 medium-blue paint with optional grey-leather upholstery, with the standard U.S. delivery options such as bumper guards, English-language instruments and sealed-beam headlamps.
The first owner, Otto Bowden, a lawyer and car enthusiast in Jacksonville, Florida, and a founding member of the Sports Car Club of Jacksonville, passed the car on to his mechanic, Gene Clendening, who raced the Gullwing in the late 1950s.
The third owner was an aviator stationed at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station; he used it as his daily driver, and then tucked it away in his garage until he took it to the local car dealer to be repainted sometime around 1965. The dealer removed the paint and primed the body, but then for some reason work was halted and the Gullwing was moved to the second floor of the dealership where Warner would see it for the first time. Even though the car was 10 years old and in primer, Warner thought it was something special, so he continued to track it for the next 53 years.
Together again
From the moment Warner described the car to Kunz, the excitement of seeing it was palpable. Inspected for the first time after the 2018 Amelia Concours, many key details were discovered on the largely untouched No. 43 that were immediately used in the restoration of No. 44.
Once the “barn-find Gullwing,” as it’s now called, was acquired by the Classic Center, the staff was adamant that these two long-lost sisters must be together again. The 2019 Amelia Island Concours was the perfect occasion. During the weekend, car enthusiasts from all over the world gazed upon a unique sight: two sequentially number 300SLs in polar-opposite conditions, one fresh restoration and one astounding barn find.
On display at Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in 2019, the two Gullwings – one largely untouched and the other freshly restored – presented a unique sight for enthusiasts.
At the Classic Center, every effort was made to maintain No. 43 exactly as it came out of storage.
A series of photographs from the day it was rolled out.
The barn find was displayed at the 2019 Amelia Concours next to No.44 illustrate the incredible original condition of No. 43 and the unique, early 300SL production details that could be gleaned from it.