Hi all,
Apologies if this is a topic that has been covered before, but looking under the movie titles I could see discussion of the car used in Arabesque (1966) and Two For The Road (1967) but nothing relating them.
In a 2017 thread here:
https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=26934.0 Tyler S mentions noticing two large paint chips on the hood showing red paint.
This is likely due to the fact that the car belonged to Stanley Donen the director of both Arabesque and Two For The Road.
We know this as he mentions it being his personal car in the audio commentary he recorded for TFTR.
Though Donen did not that I'm aware record a similar commentary for the less well critically regarded Arabesque, the British registration for the 230SL used in both films is clearly the same 1965 plate MML 303C so it seems reasonable to assume then that it's the same car in both movies, and that the paint chips Tyler observed are because it was red the year before as seen in Arabesque!
Interestingly in Arabesque though both the body and roof are red, the hubcaps are white. It maybe possible then that the car started out as red with white roof and hubcaps since it seems unlikely (if possible) that someone ordered it with only white hubcaps. Possibly they borrowed a red hardtop for the car or even painted it red for the movie. The car in Arabesques is mainly seen at night and possibly this offered more contrast and looked more dangerous since it's a thriller!
By TFTR a year later the car with the same registration of MML 303C is all white. Again this maybe due to contrast since this film is entirely shot on location in bright summer sunshine in France so the white really pops. I had also heard that it was painted white because Audrey Hepburn couldn't abide red cars, but I don't know if that's apocryphal!
I wonder if it's possible to trace the VIN number through the original registration or if the car still exists, whether it might even still wear the same plate now? Whoever owns it certainly has the most cinematically important W113 in existence - having been driven by both Sophia Lauren and Audrey Hepburn!
