5 Speed 280SL ---

[Montreal V8]

   
     ---  Bonhams just sold, Oct 7th.  Check out "The Zoute Sale".

[hauser]

https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/23596/lot/26/?category=results&length=90&page=1

[cabrioletturbo]

It does not get better than that. Awesome looking car.

[hauser]

Wrong carpet!

[Shvegel]

I really kike how they photoshopped it onto a golf course to subliminallyget you to think "Hmmm...Pebble Beach!".  Nice trick.  I guess if one ever makes it on the grass it will be a 5 speed.

[neelyrc]

My Pagoda, 007749, was also built in January, 1969.  When I placed the order in late 1968, I was told the 5 speed was no longer being offered.  Apparently the 5 speed was still offered in Europe.  When was the 5 speed discontinued in Europe?

[mdsalemi]

...photoshopped it onto a golf course...

What makes you think the golf course shots were photoshopped? Two clues to me tell me they are real (and I work with photoshop all the time...) The first is if you were going through all the trouble of hiring a Photoshop artist to alter a photo, surely you'd do something about the dreadful and awful harsh shadows and specular lighting too. You don't drop a nicely done shot onto a golf course at mid-day under the bright sun and not open up the shadows plus other exposure work--considerably easier to do, by the way than masking a car into a shot where it really isn't. Second is look at the distortion of the background trees, etc. through the car's glass. That is extremely difficult to do and make it look correct. Looks pretty accurate to me.

Bonham's and other auction houses will spend the time to photograph a car in the studio and in situ on various locations.

[114015]

My Pagoda, 007749, was also built in January, 1969.  When I placed the order in late 1968, I was told the 5 speed was no longer being offered.  Apparently the 5 speed was still offered in Europe.  When was the 5 speed discontinued in Europe?

Answer: Never (for the 280 SL)


Hello Ralph,
Yes, that is correct. Unfortunately, the ZF-5 speed was discontinued (AFAIK or remember) from mid 250 SL onwards for the US version only. This was stupidly due to some upcoming emission control legislation in the US and Mercedes-Benz did not want to invest further work into the "development" of the 5-speed to make this compatible with the emission control. 'Stupid' here does not mean the US emission control rules but the 'stupid' idea not to continue the 5-speed by MB for the US market. Don't understand this ....

For the rest of the world, the ZF-5 speed was not discontinued and was an option until the end of the production of the 280 SL, i.e. Feb. 1971.

 
Best,
Achim
(1971 230 W114)

[neelyrc]

Thanks Achim.

Regards,
Ralph

[mdsalemi]

'stupid' idea not to continue the 5-speed by MB for the US market. Don't understand this ....

Perhaps this is because a large number of US-Spec cars were sold with (read that: the market wanted) automatics? Sometimes the target market and actual market get a bit mixed up, and perhaps a larger number of the well-heeled folks who were buying these cars didn't care about 5-speeds or overdrives.

Ten years later, (1979) my BMW 320i, which seemingly was more than ten years advanced than the Pagoda, only had a 4-speed manual available, no 5 speed. Automatics were available I think, but expensive and rare. BMW drivers weren't interested in them.