Man Maths: R107 Mercedes-Benz SL

Andrew already said on a recent pod following his visit to the Festival of the Unexceptional that the youngsters he met bought their Ford Orions because that’s what they remember their aunt driving. Indeed I got into Audis because that’s what my father drove. And well before anyone got around to translating Vorsprung Durch Technik.

The school car park will be another influence. I bet you can add your own fond memories in the comments section below. For me, I remember yummy mummies turning up in everything from an Opel Senator, sunroof open to show off its blue velour, to an E30 BMW 325i four-door in Dolphin Grey with the optional 15in BBS alloys and tilting rear headrests. But nothing could trump Andrew Frankl (not a typo, no relation whatsoever and spelled without the e), of Car magazine, collecting his son in a red Ferrari 512BBi. Borrowed, as it turns out.

Yet there is another important source of car nostalgia: TV and cinema. Again, I invite you to list the characters and cars that moved you most below, just not the obvious ones, please, like Bond and his Aston Martins. Let’s go properly niche. And for this Man Maths, I’d like to take you to a large white mansion in the state of Texas, 25 miles from Dallas. That’s a clue.

If you’re over 50 years old, you’ll know I’m referring to Southfork Ranch. If you’re not, let me quickly explain. Southfork was the home of the Ewings who made their on-screen fortune in oil. Maybe a PR agency helped, don’t know. On the driveway of Southfork was always a fine collection of cars. J.R., the best-remembered of the family, being an oil baron, had a succession of S-Classes before deciding to support the US car industry by getting a Cadillac Allanté. It didn’t save the car. His wife, Sue Ellen, also liked her Mercs and started with a 300TD, and when business improved, treated herself to a 500 SEC. His mother, Miss Ellie, always drove a blue Rolls-Royce Silver Spur. His naughty niece, Lucy, had a silver Triumph TR8, the US-only Rover-engined TR7. Sister-in-law, Pam, a black 911 SC Targa. Then there was his brother, big-haired Bobby, the heartthrob of Dallas… He blasted around in a R107 Mercedes-Benz SL with the plate EWING 4. Which is why I’ve wanted one ever since.

The R107 generation of Mercedes-Benz’ SL was introduced in 1971 and with only a minor facelift in 1986 stayed in production for 18 years before being replaced by the R129. (Yes, the one driven by the late Princess of Wales, another nostalgic association.) With such a tenure, and Benz build quality, there are quite a few around. You can pay as little as £10,000. Or add a zero.  The price span is that big. There’s a range of straight-sixes and V8s. It offers a coupé and convertible in one with the removable hardtop. There was an optional rear seat but you can’t sit in it. All probably rust. But otherwise, they are as tough as two-doors get.

Lots of choice then. But I’d want one just like Bobby’s which means a 450 SL in Signal Red with Saddle Brown leather and the big US bumpers and four round headlights. I confessed this once to a group of cargeeky Americans and they suggested that we should, to quote His Trumpness, Do a Deal because they want the EU-spec bumpers and lamps and why would I want those large black protuberances? Well, for me, no other R107 will do. That’s nostalgia for you.

Free Reads on The Intercooler are freely available for all to read. The vast majority of our stories, including all of our feature articles, sit behind the paywall, only available to subscribers who get unlimited access to our ever-growing library of more than a thousand stories and close to two million words. 

Click here to start your 30-day free trial and gain full access to The Intercooler’s multi award-winning website and app.