Yahoo Autos Pristine 1986 Mercedes-Benz 560SL Is Today's Pick on Bring a Trailer
For most of the 1970s and 1980s, the automotive symbol of the good life was a Mercedes-Benz SL.
Sold in the United States from 1972 to 1989, the R107-generation SL hails from an age when Mercedes-Benz products were famously overengineered.
With ultra-low miles and a great color, with 560SL is a prime example of the breed.
The R107-generation Mercedes-Benz SL of the '70s and '80s is second only to the older G-wagen as the longest-running model Mercedes-Benz ever built. That helped cement its image as a totem of success. The cars benefit from being overengineered to a considerable degree, but many have fallen into a sad state, as second, third, or fourth owners lacked the means necessary for their considerably expensive upkeep. This 1986 560SL for sale on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver is part of Hearst Autos) appears to have avoided that fate. It's a fantastically low mileage example of the breed, with just 15K miles on the odometer.
This generation of SL was so immensely tough that Mercedes once managed to turn the coupe version into an unlikely but ultimately successful rally car, notching up wins in South America and the Ivory Coast. It was V-8–powered thunderpanzer, smashing across rugged terrain with brute force.
This lovely convertible is far removed from that brutality. Sold new in New York, it likely was a little-used weekend car. It's now located in Pennsylvania, but everything about it shouts ocean-side touring down California's coastal roads, yacht rock playing on the Becker stereo and the wind in your hair.
Finished in sumptuous Cabernet Red, it absolutely looks the part. Better yet, 1986 is the first year for the 560SL variant, which is equipped with the preferred engine of the model run, a torquey 5.5-liter V-8. That doesn't make it a a sports car, instead it's a grand tourer par excellence, but it's just the thing for this time of year for enjoying fall colors on a drive in the country.
This particular SL looks to be a stunning example of the marque, and will doubtless fetch top dollar. But with these cars, you're better off buying the best possible example rather than undertaking expensive restoration work.
There's no reserve on this auction, which ends September 30th.
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