Mercedes-Benz W 113

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Mercedes Benz
1969 Mercedes-Benz 280 SL (W 113) roadster (2011-10-31) 01.jpg
W 113
Sales designation: SL series
Production period: 1963-1971
Class : Sports car
Body versions : Roadster
Engines:
Petrol engines : 2.3–2.8 liters
(110–125 kW)
Length: 4282 mm
Width: 1760 mm
Height: 1305-1320 mm
Wheelbase : 2400 mm
Empty weight : 1295-1466 kg
Previous model Mercedes-Benz W 121 B II
successor Mercedes-Benz R 107

The W 113 is a two-seater convertible convertible roof from Mercedes-Benz that was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1963 . It was supposed to replace the 190 SL and 300 SL at the same time . Because of its additionally available, inwardly curved hard top , it was nicknamed the Pagoda . It was built in the versions 230 SL (1963-1967), 250 SL (1967) and 280 SL (1968-1971), optionally with manual or automatic transmission, a total of 48,912 times.

For a surcharge, the car was also available as a roadster ( 2 + 2 ) with a hardtop without a convertible top / convertible top box and a continuous rear bench seat. This California model was offered by Mercedes as a "special version without a roadster top with an enlarged rear". The California version had a transverse emergency seat at the rear, so it was not a 2 + 2 roadster.

Model history

General

Rear view, US model

The W 113 marked the transition from the rounded shapes of the previous model to a more functional style. The aim of the design development was to clearly differentiate oneself from the predecessor and to strive for a "masculine" appearance. The Pagoden-SL is characterized by smooth surfaces, a lot of usable space and the absence of decorative elements . The main sales market was the USA, here in turn the majority of the vehicles went to California .

Body and chassis

interior
dashboard

The "Pagoda" was the first SL to have extensive security measures introduced. Since its basis is the floor assembly of the “tail fin” W 111 with a 30 cm shorter wheelbase, the SL also has a stiff passenger cell and crumple zones , and easily deformable bow and stern segments. As with the sedan, the interior is defused, there are no hard corners and edges. As with the predecessor, seat belts were available as an option. The steering gear was moved from the crash-prone area of ​​the front end of the car to the bulkhead, the steering column is kinked and has joints that prevent the dreaded lance effect in an accident. In 1967 the safety steering column with an impact absorber in the steering wheel was added.

The chassis with recirculating ball steering and rear single-joint swing axle was also taken from the W 111 sedan. The dual-circuit braking system initially only had disc brakes on the front axle; with the introduction of the 250 SL also on the rear axle. Its suspension is firm, but very comfortable for a sports car. Gas pressure shock absorbers provide damping; for the first time an SL drove on radial tires .

engine and gears

Engine view of a right-hand drive automatic vehicle

The six-cylinder M 127, also from the W 111 sedan, with cylinders cast in pairs, has undergone a number of changes. The most important was the use of a six-plunger injection pump instead of the two-plunger pump with two triple distributors. This made it possible to inject the fuel through the open inlet valves into the combustion chamber and no longer just into the intake pipe. The M 127 II engine, bored out to 2.3 liters, develops 150 hp at 5500 rpm and offers a torque of 196 Nm at 4200 rpm. This very sporty drive of the SL requires relatively high speeds.

The maximum speed with manual transmission is 200 km / h. A four-speed automatic transmission was available as an option, for the first time ever in an SL.

In December 1966, the 150 hp Mercedes-Benz 250 SL ( Mercedes-Benz M 129 ) followed. The engine and brakes are slightly modified from the 250 SE . Original 250 SLs are the rarest examples of the W 113 series due to the fact that they only took a year to build. Their engine is critical to heat due to the paired cylinder arrangement, as in the sedans and the large coupés and convertibles. With the 250 engine size, the concept of paired cylinders had reached its limits.

In 1968 the 250 SL was replaced by the 170 hp, more torque-intensive 280 SL with the M 130 engine , now with even cylinder spacing. On the outside, the only difference between the car and its predecessor is the nameplate on the trunk lid and modified wheel trims. In 1968 the 280 SL also got the impact pot steering wheel of the 280 S / SE; the steering column is therefore shorter than on the 230 SL and 250 SL; Conversions from 230 SL or 250 SL to 280 SL can partly be recognized by this: The indicator lever of the newer impact absorber steering columns is longer and hinged further forward on the dashboard.

The engine of the 280 SL has an output of 170 hp, 10 hp more than the 280 SE engine of the same displacement in the sedans; The same SL engine also served as a transitional drive for the 300 SEL, which was built at the same time, after the complex three-liter aluminum engine was built.

Mercedes-Benz 280 SL, built in 1969, at the ADAC Mittelrhein Classic 2013

The modular principle means that the drives can be exchanged in many ways. Extensive use was made of this in earlier decades in the case of the not uncommon engine damage (230 SL, 250 SL). When making a purchase, it is therefore important to ensure that the body and drive system belong together correctly. The second group of three digits of the chassis number after the model 113, in connection with the engine type, is decisive. Drives that do not belong to the model of the body devalue a vehicle by five-digit euro amounts. Offers that appear astonishingly cheap often have a catch here and are often too expensive on closer inspection with regard to an investment and because of the cost of dismantling the original version.

Eight-cylinder engines like the 6.3-liter Mercedes-Benz M 100 built from 1963 or the more compact Mercedes-Benz M 116 / M 117 built from 1969 did not exist in the series of the W 113, but attempts were made to do this as well as private conversions . Eight-cylinder engines were only introduced in the SL in 1971 with the successor 350 SL with the C107 model.

Others

For the W 113 with hardtop, progressive approaches were taken with regard to the heating / ventilation system, which ensured both targeted heating and ventilation despite the low passenger cell with flat roof. Effective, yet draft-free permanent ventilation was achieved through the roof lining and slots above the rear window.

data sheet

230 SL 250 SL 280 SL
engine Six-cylinder in - line engine (four-stroke)
Engine type M 127.II M 129.III M 130
Displacement 2306 cc 2496 cc 2778 cc
Bore × stroke 82 x 72.8 mm 82 x 78.8 mm 86.5 x 78.8 mm
Compression ratio 9.5: 1
Maximum speed 1 / min 6500
Power
at 1 / min
110 kW (150 hp)
5500
125 kW (170 hp)
5750
Torque
at 1 / min
196 Nm
4200
216 Nm
4200
240 Nm
4500
Gearbox (standard) Manual transmission
Top speed 200 km / h (with manual transmission)
Drag coefficient
with hard top 0.515
with hood 0.481
open 0.610
Fuel consumption
(according to DIN 70030 * 1
combined in l / 100 km)
10.2 11.2 11.4
Quantities 19,831 5,186 23,885

Special equipment

Mercedes offered some special equipment features for the W 113. Here is a selection:

Surname Surcharge in DM *
Leather upholstery 1,048
Front headrests, leather 222
Front seat belts 77
H1 halogen light 188
Heated rear window 244
Metallic paint 699
Hard top 1,459
Coupé with hardtop without convertible top and convertible top
compartment , but rear bench seat ("California version")
632
4-speed automatic transmission (manufacturer Daimler-Benz) 1,443
Five-speed gearbox (manual, manufacturer ZF ) 1,459
Power steering 599
Car phone ( A-Netz , manufacturer Becker or TeKaDe ) 9,934

* Price list Jan. 1972; full DM including sales tax of 11% at the time

Production figures and current stock

When production, which was characterized by a large number of technical changes in the meantime, ended on February 23, 1971, more than half of the vehicles had been sold outside Germany, particularly to the USA .

On January 1, 2015, 4,369 copies of the three model series were registered in Germany. A significant number of SL vehicles that have been deregistered, are being restored or waiting for restoration are not recorded. An SL of this series is only very rarely scrapped, even in the worst condition (accident, corroded, mechanics defective). In addition, after a complete, complex repair of the body, thanks to the modular system, it is also easy to implant the largely identical (except for the engine of the 230 SL) and readily available technology of the sedans.

literature

  • MARKT Classic automobiles and motorcycles , special issue 12: Buying advice for youngtimers from the sixties and seventies, VF Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Mainz, 1992
  • Thomas Wirth, athlete with manners. In: Mercedes-Benz classic, issue 02, 2016. pp. 40–46

Individual evidence

  1. Two-seater with interesting details. In: Motor vehicle technology 9/1963, pp. 342–343.
  2. www.meinbenz.de
  3. http://www.pagode.info/6.htm

Web links

Commons : Mercedes-Benz W 113  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files