Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (W198, 1954-1957): books - history

Mercedes Benz 300SL Racing Cars 1952-1953

In 1952, Mercedes-Benz astonished the world with its 300SL sports-racing cars; sleek coupes with their startling gullwing doors. Based on the 300S production model installed in a radical tubular space frame, the 300SL was a tour de force of lightweight aerodynamic design. While the later production 300SL has been well chronicled, the 1952 racing model is less documented.

Based on extensive unpublished photography at the Mille Miglia, Berne, Nürburgring and Le Mans, superbly and intimately captured by Rodolfo Mailander, this book will portray the amazing achievements of these tough cars and their epic victories at Le Mans and in the Carrera Panamericana.
Rare Daimler-Benz archive photos also show the prototype, never raced, designed and built for the 1953 season. Every fan of racing and Mercedes-Benz will relish the pictorial revelations of this book.

Product details

Author:	Karl Ludvigsen, Alfred Neubauer
Details:	128 pages, 21.5 x 26 x 1 cm / 8.5 x 10.25 x 0.39 in, paperback
Illustrations:	123 b&w photos
Publisher:	Iconografix (USA, 2002)
ISBN:	9781583880678

Mercedes-Benz 190SL, 300SL, 300SLR - Brooklands Portfolio

Brooklands Portfolio book about the Mercedes-Benz 190SL, 300SL and 300SLR sports cars from the 50s.

• The articles, taken from contemporary British and American car magazines, provide much information about history, model changes and technology.
• Also driving impressions, tests, comparison tests, technical specifications, etc.

Product details

Details:	350 pages, 28 x 21 x 2.3 cm / 11 x 8.25 x 0.91 in, paperback
Illustrations:	profusely illustrated with about 600 b&w photos
Publisher:	Brooklands Books (GB, 2011)
ISBN:	9781855209329

More information on the Brooklands Portfolio books

Mercedes-Benz 300 SL - Milestones of Motor Sports (Vol. 2)

The 300 SL (W 194) is the first racing car with which Mercedes-Benz renewed its participation in international automobile racing in the postwar period. Top-ranking positions and triumphs, such as at the legendary twenty-four-hour endurance race in Le Mans or the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico, are not a long time in the coming and as early as 1952 secure a place for the Stuttgart-based make in the worldwide motor sports scene.
The racing car achieved particular fame for its unusual gull-winged doors, which turn the production sports car 300 SL, introduced in 1954 and directly derived from the W 194, into one of the lasting icons in automobile history.

The book provides exhaustive and authentic documentation of the technical development of the W 194 based on extensive research in the archives of Mercedes-Benz Classic: all of the races as well as the biography of each individual vehicle are presented with the aid of in part unpublished images and illustrations. Its high-quality design as well as its exquisite features make the book a true collector's item.

Product details

Author:	Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz Classic, Günter Engelen
Details:	600 pages, 38.5 x 30 x 4.6 cm / 15.2 x 11.8 x 1.81 in, hardback
Illustrations:	313 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	Hatje Cantz (D, 2015)
ISBN:	9783775740036

Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR - Milestones of Motor Sports (Vol. 1)

In 1955, Mercedes-Benz wins the sports car world championship with the racing car 300 SLR (W 196 S). In addition to the titles achieved that same year in the Formula 1 world championship and the European touring car championship, this success is proof of the unprecedented dominance of a single manufacturer on the stage of international automobile racing.
Stirling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio, the most successful drivers of their era, celebrate impressive double victories in the 300 SLR at the most demanding road races in the world, triumphs that continue to afford this unparalleled racing car lasting fame to this day.

Based on extensive research in the archives of Mercedes-Benz Classic, this book provides exhaustive and authentic documentation of the technical development of the W 196 S. All of the races as well as the biography of each individual vehicle are presented with the aid of images and illustrations, some of which have never before been published. Its high-quality design and exquisite features make the book a true collector's item.

Product details

Author:	Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz Classic, Günter Engelen
Details:	508 pages, 38.5 x 29.5 x 4.1 cm / 15.2 x 11.6 x 1.61 in, hardback
Illustrations:	316 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	Hatje Cantz (D, 2015)
ISBN:	9783775740012

Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR: The Fabulous 1955 World-Champion Sports-Racer

When Mercedes-Benz returned to motor racing in the 1950s it did so with an aggressive attack across the board. It planned to launch both its Grand Prix cars and its new sports-racing cars in 1954, but delays with the latter meant that the sports-racers didn't appear until 1955.
When they did, the results were sensational. The magnificent 300 SLR took Stirling Moss to a record-shattering victory in the Mille Miglia and (with Peter Collins) in the grueling Targa Florio. Other victories took Mercedes-Benz to the World Manufacturers' Championship that year. Tragedy struck as well: a 300 SLR went into the crowd at Le Mans, resulting in 82 deaths and many injuries.

With unique and rarely seen images, Karl Ludvigsen presents the dramatic story of these racers with their tubular space frames, inboard brakes, and fuel-injected desmodromic-valved eight-cylinder engines.
Featured also are secret tests at Hockenheim, the never-raced coupe version of the 300 SLR, and the new design that was being prepared for 1956 - a season that these cars never experienced.

Product details

Author:	Karl Ludvigse
Details:	128 pages, 21.5 x 26 x 1 cm / 8.5 x 10.25 x 0.39 in, paperback
Illustrations:	118 b&w photos
Publisher:	Iconografix (USA, 2004)
ISBN:	9781583881224

Mercedes-Benz 300SL: Gullwings and Roadsters 1954-1964 Photo Archive

In 1952 Mercedes-Benz astonished the racing world with the successes it achieved with its 300SL, exploiting an advanced space-type frame and aerodynamic body with gullwing doors. The racing 300SL inspired the creation of a production version, which first took ride in 1954.
The 300SL stunned critics and experts alike with its fabulous performance - more than 150 mph - exotic looks and superb build quality. Not just a pretty face, the 300SL was also extremely successful in competition on both sides of the Atlantic. The original coupe was followed by a roadster version in 1957; in all 3, 258 were made.

Drawing on his unmatched archive of Mercedes-Benz photos, including coverage by Rudy Mailander and Edward Eves of the 300SL "production line, " Karl Ludvigsen presents the 300SL in all its glory. He also draws on his own experience as an owner of one of these great cars.

Product details

Author:	Karl Ludvigsen
Details:	128 pages, 21.5 x 26 x 1 cm / 8.5 x 10.25 x 0.39 in, paperback
Illustrations:	126 b&w photos
Publisher:	Iconografix (USA, 2005)
ISBN:	9781583881378

Mercedes-Benz: The early Mercedes SL cars - From the 300 SL and 190 SL to the 230 SL - 280 SL

This 270-page book gives you the facts about the Mercedes SL cars from the 1950s and 1960s (W121, W198 and W113). And these are some of the topics covered:
- The time that made the 300 SL possible
- Development of the 300 SL Coupe and Roadster
- The secret and unique 300 SLS that survived in private hands until today
- The racing history
- Two famous SL owners
- Development of the 190 SL
- A larger engine is needed
- The racing history
- Driving a 190SL Turbo in 1959
- Development of the 230 SL
- The 230 SL, 250 SL, 280 SL
- The coachbuilders
- The in-house conversions
- How the pagoda SL was seen by its owners in the 1960s
- Chassis number and data card explained
- W121, W113 buyer's guide
- Technical specifications and production history of each model.

All this is accompanied by superb recent non-Daimler AG color photography, this includes pictures of the suspensions.

Product details

Author:	Bernd S. Koehling
Details:	272 pages, 28 x 21.5 cm / 11 x 8.5 in, paperback
Illustrations:	200 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	Bernd S. Koehling (D, 2017)
ISBN:	9781484180563

Return to Glory! - The Mercedes 300 SL Racing Car

1952 was one of the most important years in Mercedes-Benz racing history; after a 13-year absence, it returned to motor sport competition with an automobile that rewrote the history of modern sports car racing. The 300 SLA's debut was the culmination of a long, difficult road back to racing for Mercedes-Benz after a 13 year break.

This book vividly depicts the 300 SLA's performance in the five races in which it competed in 1952, and tells the story of how it became the most successful competition sports car of that year.
Through dramatic photographs, and equally stirring text, one of the greatest years of sports car racing is brought to life, filled with automobiles often finished in national racing colours, prepared by great factory teams, driven by men who were national sporting idols, and raced under gruelling conditions unique to the age.

From its Mille Miglia debut, through the Nürburgring, the Le Mans 24 Hours, to its greatest race, the Carrera Panamericana, the 300 SLA's career from conception to retirement is presented, culminating with a detailed photographic essay illustrating restoration of the oldest 300 SL in existence.

Product details

Author:	Robert Ackerson
Details:	144 pages, 25.5 x 25.5 x 1.8 cm / 10 x 10 x 0.71 in, hardback
Illustrations:	126 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	Veloce Publishing Ltd (GB, 2013)
ISBN:	9781845846176

The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Book

From the very first 300 SL to its 2011 successors, this iconic sports car shows how engineering can claim the status of fine art. Who better to document this parade of automotive milestones than René Staud? After all, his atmospheric images enrapture the hearts and imaginations of car connoisseurs everywhere.

Building on the success of his Mercedes-Benz SL calendars, this title is a love song to an exceptional car - long the favorite of celebrities such as Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Alfred Hitchcock. Each carefully staged photograph showcases the sculpted curves and precise details - all while capturing the thrills of this ultimate ride.
This is a photographic homage to the "sports car of the century" spanning 60 years of model history, from the 1952 300 SL racers to the latest-generation SL.

Product details

Author:	René Staud
Details:	304 pages, 32 x 25 cm / 12.6 x 9.8 in, hardback
Illustrations:	200 colour photos
Publisher:	teNeues Publishing UK Ltd (GB, 2016)
ISBN:	9783832733865

Mercedes 300 SL / SLR

The Second World War left Germany drained. The industry most affected? Certainly the automobile industry...
So it was with pre-war products that it launched into the post-war period. No innovations, just a few improvements. Talking about sports cars, or even motor racing, was, in this period of reconstruction, totally incongruous.

At Mercedes, however, they dared. In secret at first. Then in broad daylight at the beginning of 1954, with the presentation of the 300 SL at the New York Motor Show. Excitement in the USA, excitement on the planet: this coupé is a real racing car and its "gullwing" doors already ensure it a crazy notoriety.
And what technology! A "must" is born. The whole world fights over it and the beauty dares to dress as a sports car. Better still, after a brief but fulfilling career, it transforms into a sumptuous convertible.
As for the sport, it will leave it to one of its descendants, the SLR. A car that will do a lot for the aura of the 300 SL and the brand with the star all over the world. Short story, rich story: a book was necessary!

Product details

Author:	Antoine Grégoire
Details:	192 pages, 31 x 23.5 cm / 12.2 x 9.25 in, hardback
Illustrations:	350 colour photos
Publisher:	ETAI (F, 2004)
ISBN:	9782726893982

Mercedes 300 SL - Vom Rennwagen zum Klassiker

Behind the model name Mercedes-Benz W 198 lies much more than just a simple car: it stands for a legend that became known under the sales name Mercedes 300 SL.
Mercedes-Benz presented the super sports car for the first time in February 1954 at the International Motor Sports Show in New York. But the real story began much earlier.

In this volume by Mike Riedner and Günter Engelen, readers will find the concentrated knowledge about this legendary vehicle from two absolute experts.

Product details

Author:	Mike Riedner, Günter Engelen
Details:	288 pages, 26.5 x 23 cm / 10.4 x 9.1 in, paperback
Illustrations:	246 b&w and 60 colour photos, 31 drawings
Publisher:	Motorbuch Verlag (D, 2008)
ISBN:	9783613029378

Mercedes-Benz 300 SL - Das Jahrhundertauto

NEW

Although much has already been written about the iconic Mercedes 300 SL, this illustrated volume offers a new perspective.
Author Hans Kleissl, a recognised expert on the 300 SL, presents rare facts and images, many sourced from the official archives and previously unseen for decades.

Kleissl's company is internationally known for restoring both the Gullwing and Roadster versions of the 300 SL. Together with automotive historian Dr. Harry Niemann, he has created a remarkable book that brings the history and stories of this legendary car to life through detailed text and exceptional photography.

Product details

Author:	Hans Kleissl, Harry Niemann
Details:	368 pages, 30.5 x 25 x 3.1 cm / 12 x 9.8 x 1.22 in, hardback
Illustrations:	379 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	Motorbuch Verlag (D, 2025)
ISBN:	9783613047785