Maligned: ’73 Mercedes-Benz 450SLC
You’ll think us crazy when we tell you the seller is asking $29,000 for this 450SLC. Let us tell you why they aren’t. Well, maybe just a little (insert smiley face). First, the sellers have one of the most interesting Mercedes-Benz restoration shops around. They do not focus on the high-value cars but cars that you can use, and you should, every day. Maybe they should be called Mercedes-Benz recyclers? Want to find the best 1981 300CD in the country? Call them. How about one of our favorites, a 1982 300TD Wagon? Call them. You’ll pay twice what you’ll pay on Craigslist (that sewer) or even on eBay but you will have essentially a new-ish car. First, they won’t start off with marginal cars. They will be special to begin with like today’s ’73 450SLC. This Astral Silver beauty has covered only 36,000 miles. All of the SLCs were trimmed in leather and this one has red leather that looks like a well cared for leather armchair. And there is a lot of leather because this car has a useable rear seat. We like this one too because it is a ’73 with the trim-fitting pre-5 mph bumpers. It looks like the European cars that followed. These are essentially 450SL Roadsters with 14″ of length added to the wheelbase, all devoted to the rear seat. That makes these a great highway cruiser because they ride nicer than the shorter SL. Much maligned, these SLCs are hard to find in cherished condition. It will be too expensive to bring one back from the brink years from now when they become more collectible. So buy the best now and be the smartest crazy kid in the class. Click here for the website.
Of course it’s based on a 107 …
These are actually based on the S-class sedans and not a 107.
Actually, we haven’t been able to substantiate your information. All we can find indicates it is a stretched R107.
“The SLC is commonly referred to as an ‘SL coupe’, and this was the first time that Mercedes-Benz had based a coupe on an SL roadster platform rather than on a saloon, replacing the former saloon-based 280/300 SE coupé in Mercedes lineup.”