300SL Gullwing
 

Our cars can trace their bloodlines to the W198 roadsters MB introduced to racing in 1952, and later marketed as "street cars" in 1954. Jay Leno has a fairly good video showing his W198. I know many (probably most) of you have seen the clip, but for those who haven't, here's a link:


Enjoy. And wish you were Jay Leno's next door neighbor.

FWIW: I was in fifth grade in 1954-55. Our across-the-street neighbor had a son who was a young USAF pilot during that time. He drove up one summer day in a brand new, red, 300SL gullwing. I had never seen ... never even imagined ... such a beautiful beautiful car. He enjoyed showing it to us kids, letting us crawl over the high sill to sit in the car, and he rode a few of us around the 'hood ... I was one of the lucky riders. I was hooked on that car specifically and MBs generally from that day forward. I like the clip Jay Leno put together, and hope you enjoy it also.

Thanks for sharing that - gotta love Jay as a fellow car nut! The 300SL is awesome, in the true sens of that word! I did have a chance to drive one a few years back. You know what my major memory of the experience was? How damned hard it was getting in and out of the thing! :)

Love the W210 sitting next to it.