Monday, March 25, 2024
Menu

The coupé with the aspirations of the S-Class: Mercedes-Benz SLC!

Reading time 7 Min.
The coupé with the aspirations of the S-Class: Mercedes-Benz SLC!
Mercedes-Benz 380 SLC (C 107), 1980 to 1981. (Photo signature of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Archive: 2003DIG455)

It is a glamorous premiere: in October 1971, Mercedes-Benz presented the SLC Coupé at the Paris Motor Show, a popular venue for elegant creations. The four-seater vehicle combines high performance with the best driving comfort and is an ideal companion on long journeys, for example. The 350 SLC is the first model to be exhibited at the trade fair in the French capital. Other models followed later, and with the evolutionary stages 450 SLC 5.0 and 500 SLC, the brand was even successful in motorsport: Mercedes-Benz used it at the factory in long-distance rallies and achieved overall victories in South America and Africa. Well-maintained specimens of this SLC series have long since become coveted classics with the potential to increase in value.

Mercedes-Benz SLC

Decision for the short way: On June 18, 1968, the board of directors decided on series production of the new SL (R 107) as the successor to the “Pagoda” series W 113. At this point, there was still discussion about whether the coupé from the W 111 series should also have a successor. One possibility would be to wait for the new S-Class of the 116 series as the technical basis, which is currently being built and will finally be presented in September 1972. But the development capacities would not allow the new coupé to be completed until the mid-1970s. So that it comes to the market earlier, the decision was made to orient the Coupé on the SL.

The coupé with the aspirations of the S-Class: Mercedes-Benz SLC!
Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC (C 107), USA version, model year 1978. (Photo signature of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Archive: 1998DIG132)

The elegant coupé with the aspirations of the S-Class: Mercedes-Benz SLC in 1971

What we owe to the body shop in Sindelfingen: The team under the direction of Karl Wilfert initially developed a rather unofficial coupé variant of the R 107 and presented it to the board as a "blank". He seized the opportunity: The brand presented the C 107 luxury coupé in October 1971, just six months after the world premiere of the new SL. Series production begins in April 1972 and runs until 1981, producing a total of 62.888 vehicles. The most popular variant is the 450 SLC with 31.739 units. The successors are the large coupés from the C 126 series, which are again oriented towards the S-Class. The SL from the R 107 series remains in the range for a significantly longer period than the SLC coupes: it will be produced until 1989.

The coupé with the aspirations of the S-Class: Mercedes-Benz SLC!
Mercedes-Benz 350 SLC (C 107). Presentation at the Paris Motor Show, October 7th to 17th, 1971. (Photo signature of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Archive: 71437_1)

Identical front end: From the front to the windshield, the SL and SLC do not differ. Behind it, the coupé grows in height and length. In the side view, the longer wheelbase of the four-seater catches the eye; at 2.820 millimeters, it is a remarkable 360 ​​millimeters larger. The flat roof over the passenger compartment merges into a rear window that is curved in two directions and positioned at a right angle. In contrast to the SL, the trunk lid is also slightly curved in two directions. As is usual with the brand's large coupés, the side windows can be fully retracted without the annoying B-pillar, which gives the SLC a particularly elegant touch. Because of the tight space between the elongated doors and the rear wheel arches, there is little space left for the rear side windows to be completely lowered. Therefore, they are divided into two parts, and the fixed smaller segment is given lamellas.

Safety first: Even in the Roadster, the A-pillars are designed with additional stability due to the stricter safety regulations, especially in the USA. The SL received American approval even without the “Targa” bar. The SLC benefits from this construction. Its safety body also consists of a frame floor system with sheets of different thicknesses for a pre-calculated crumple behavior. The tank is located in front of the rear axle, protected from collision. The new four-spoke steering wheel with impact absorber is foamed with polyurethane. The coupé weighs around 50 kilograms more than the corresponding roadster. Because the cWValue of the SLC with 0,423 (1973) is lower than that of the SL with hardtop (cW = 0,489), the performance of both variants is almost the same with the same engine.

The coupé with the aspirations of the S-Class: Mercedes-Benz SLC!
11th Bandama Rally on the Ivory Coast, December 9-14, 1979. The rally ends with a four-fold victory for the Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC 5.0 (C 107). (Photo signature of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Archive: 2001M102)

V8 as a power source: The technology of the roadster and coupé shows numerous parallels. The 3,5-liter engine (M 116), which has been available in both series from the start, has already proven itself in the sedans of the W 108 and W 109 series as well as in the coupé and convertible of the W 111 series. He does 147 kW (200 PS) and enables the 350 SLC to accelerate from 0 to 100 km / h in nine seconds and reach a top speed of 210 km / h. In 1972 the 450 SLC followed with the M 117 and 165 kW (225 hp) and in 1973 the 280 SLC with a six-cylinder engine, 2,8 liters displacement and 136 kW (185 hp). In September 1977, Mercedes-Benz brought the 450 SLC 5.0 with it 177 kW (240 hp) a.

The top model has a discreet front spoiler and a black rear spoiler made of plastic, the bonnet, trunk lid and bumper reinforcement are made of aluminum. Stricter emissions regulations in Europe, too, lead to modified injection systems with the result of slightly varying engine outputs. 380 SLC and 500 SLC are only offered in the last year of construction. The chassis of the roadster and coupé is based on the modern designs of the "dash-eight" types of the upper middle class. In 1980 the three-speed automatic transmission was replaced by a four-speed variant, and the 280 SLC received a five-speed manual transmission as basic equipment.

The SLC in motorsport: Between the post-war Silver Arrows era in 1954/1955 and the return to the circuit with the official factory entry into the sports car world championship and the German touring car championship (DTM) in 1988, Mercedes-Benz took part in rallies from 1977 to 1980 factory in motorsport. The starting point is the rally from London to Sydney. A team led by the engineer Erich Waxenberger looks after six largely standard sedans of the type 280 E of the 123 series. The engine (M 110) corresponds to 136 kW (185 hp) that of the 280 SLC. After more than 30.000 kilometers, four of the star drivers occupy places one, two, six and eight at the finish, with Andrew Cowan's team in the lead.

The coupé with the aspirations of the S-Class: Mercedes-Benz SLC!
Mercedes-Benz 280 SLC (C 107), 1974 to 1980. (Photo signature of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Archive: 1998DIG99)

Waxenberger knows about an even more victorious model for long-distance operations - the 450 SLC 5.0. For the mammoth rally Vuelta à la América del Sud from August 17 to September 24, the brand reports four SLC coupés and two 280 E. After 30.000 kilometers in 42 days through ten countries in South America, Andrew Cowan is back in front. The other Mercedes-Benz follow in places two to four as well as six and nine. In the traditional East African Safari, Hannu Mikkola with the 450 SLC 5.0 is at the head of the field for a long time and comes in second at the end. At the end of the year, four SLC Coupés took the first four places with Mikkola as the winner in the Ivory Coast Rally. At the 1980 Safari Rally, material defects on the rear axle set the teams back, Vic Preston jr. but still saves third place.

The coupé with the aspirations of the S-Class: Mercedes-Benz SLC!
Mercedes-Benz rally vehicles in the permanent exhibition of the Mercedes-Benz Museum, exhibition area Myth 7: Silver Arrows - races and records. In the foreground is the victorious Mercedes-Benz 500 SLC (C 107) of the 1980 Bandama rally by Björn Waldegård and Hans Thorszelius. A second 500 SLC makes the one-two perfect. (Photo signature of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Archive: D433231)

At the end of the Bandama Rally, the new edition of the Ivory Coast Rally, the 500 SLC rally car brought a double triumph. Björn Waldegård / Hans Thorszelius' winning car is now in the Mercedes-Benz Museum. Before the 1981 season, Mercedes-Benz withdrew from rallying. The private driver Albert Pfuhl takes over the entire material, consisting of six 500 SLC, spare parts and 600 tires. With two of these vehicles, the teams Albert Pfuhl / Hans Schuller and Jochen Mass / Stephen Perry finished 1984th and 44nd in the Paris – Dakar rally in 62.

Finally, touring car sport: Clemens Schickentanz and Jörg Denzel win with the 1980 276 kW (375 PS) strong Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC AMG won the Touring Car Grand Prix on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring. After two years of development, the sensational coupé with an infernal sound has thus fulfilled its mandate not only to generate technical know-how for road vehicles, but also to win. Photo credit: Mercedes-Benz

The coupé with the aspirations of the S-Class: Mercedes-Benz SLC!
Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC AMG, 1980. In the same year, Clemens Schickentanz and Jörg Denzel won the touring car Grand Prix on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring with this vehicle. (Photo signature of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Archive: 07A873)

Of course, that wasn't the end of it. Our tuning magazine has tens of thousands of other tuning reports in stock. Do you want to see them all? Just click HERE and look around. Or are you especially interested in our Tuning classics category? Then the following extract of tuned young and old timers is sure to be just the thing to browse.

Porsche Strosek 911 “Mega 30 Years” anniversary model!

The coupé with the aspirations of the S-Class: Mercedes-Benz SLC!

Mercedes homage "Renovatio SL" at the AMTS in Budapest!

The coupé with the aspirations of the S-Class: Mercedes-Benz SLC!

American luxury tires: the “Custom Luxury” tires!

The coupé with the aspirations of the S-Class: Mercedes-Benz SLC!

tuningblog.eu - on the subject of cars, motorcycles, bikes / ATV / scooters & Co., and of course our passion, the Tuning, we keep you up to date and report daily on cool vehicles from all over the world. It's best to subscribe to ours Feed and you will be automatically informed as soon as there is a new post.

About Thomas Wachsmuth

Thomas Wachsmuth - He has been an integral part of tuningblog.eu since 2013. His passion for cars is so intense that he invests every available penny in them. While he dreams of a BMW E31 850CSI and a Hennessey 6x6 Ford F-150, he currently drives a rather inconspicuous BMW 540i (G31/LCI). His collection of books, magazines and brochures on the subject of car tuning has now reached such proportions that he himself has become a walking reference work for the tuning scene.  More about Thomas

Leave a Comment

Your e-mail address will not be published. Required fields are marked with * marked