Mystery surrounds what happened to a pair of 1950s Mercedes-Benz racecars. The Mercedes-Benz Classic Center decided to recreate one using a 300 SL Roadster as a starting point.
For some vintage car owners, the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in Irvine, California is the place to go when they want skilled craftspeople to restore their personal piece of automotive yesteryear. As the above video shows, the artisans at the facility can do far more than that. They can recreate history.
Back in the late 1950s, Mercedes-Benz sent two race cars to a driver named Paul O’Shea in New Jersey. After he competed in the 1957 motorsports season, the fate of the SLSs became uncertain.
That was the same year the 300 SL Roadster debuted. It’s now been 60 years since the iconic drop-top mesmerized the automotive world with its graceful, flowing lines. The Mercedes-Benz Classic Center could’ve marked the milestone by just inviting a bunch of 300 SL owners to a big bash or posting a series of photos on social media looking back on the legends.
Instead, it went further. Waaaaaay further. It made its own tribute to the 300 SLS. Tributes are not uncommon creations, but they can sometimes be as poorly manifested as they are funded. That wasn’t the case with this car. The Mercedes-Benz Classic Center had the photos, measurements, records, blueprints, tools, materials, and know-how to painstakingly craft its own modern-day 300 SLS. It helps that it also had a 300 SL to use as a donor car.
The finished product is a gleaming green thing of beauty. It’s a treat to watch such a lovingly crafted work of passion sail down straightaways, but we have a feeling the best view of the 300 SLS recreation is from behind its wheel – and through a pair of old school racing goggles.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
