- A incredible time capsule of a Mercedes R107 SL has been unearthed in the UK.
- The 42-mile 500 SL’s original owner took delivery in 1982 and never drove it.
- New custodian The SL Shop plans to keep it in a climate-controlled display.
Most barn finds come with dust, mouse nests, and a multitude of expensive bills waiting to greet the new owner. This one, though, is a very different story.
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A UK-based Mercedes specialist has unearthed an astonishing 1982 Mercedes-Benz 500 SL that’s so well preserved you half expect a dealer in flared trousers to appear and ask if sir would like to take her around the block.
Hidden For 43 Years
This R107-generation SL has covered just 42 miles (68 km) since new, but looks like it’s done none at all. It’s never been registered, never had plates fitted, and presents exactly as it would have done sitting in a Mercedes showroom when E.T. topped the box office.
The R107 was already a legend before E.T. phoned home. Introduced in 1971 as the successor to the W113 Pagoda, it combined the elegance of a grand tourer with the toughness of a tank.
In 1980, Mercedes introduced the 500 SL, fitted with a 5.0-liter V8 pushing out 237 hp (240 PS) through a four-speed automatic gearbox. It was the top of the European SL tree – expensive, powerful, and the sort of car that whispered “success” when you parked it at the golf club.
They’re definitely not immune to rot, but plenty survive in excellent condition, and The SL Shop resto team can make one look as good as new.
A True Time Capsule
But this SL is different. This SL is new, and in a YouTube video company founder Sam Bailey shows us all of the little quirks – the stickers, chalk marks and grease blobs – that only those who owned or sold these cars back in the 1980s would be familiar with.
Even the paint looks different than on most other cars with the same code, he says, because it’s never been exposed to the sun.
Bailey first heard of this car 15 years ago when its first owner, a Mr Hough, mentioned at a classic car show that he had an unused R107 tucked away.
But it was only this year that Hough decided it was time to part with the SL, whose only modification is a silver Mercedes emblem on the hood, fashioned by the owner himself.
Where It Belongs Now
From the smell of its wood and leather interior to the 44-year old Michelin XWX tires, this four-wheeled time machine transports you to an era when Mercedes engineering was at its most solid and unapologetically overbuilt.
It’s the kind of car serious Mercedes fans would kill to have in their own collections, but this is one R107 The SL Shop won’t be passing on. Instead, it will live in a climate-controlled display case and serve as a gold-standard reference for every future SL restoration.