If ever the idea of 'less is more' needs substantiating, then surely the Mercedes SL Pagoda does the job conclusively. Where Aston Martin DB5s swoop sensually and Jaguar E-Types arc artfully, the Pagoda is, essentially, just a series of parallel and perpendicular lines. On paper that makes it sound like a Mk5 Ford Cortina. But on paper a man from Billericay or a lady from Croydon wouldn't cause people to faint, but if David Gandy or Kate Moss walked into a room, ladies and gentlemen would go 'ooo' and sometimes fall over.
Kate Moss actually owned one of Paul Bracq's W113 masterpieces, along with John Travolta, Jason Orange, David Coulthard and Nico Rosberg. It's always been seen as glamourous and exclusive, though. Back in the day it cost double what an E-Type did and was £1,000 more than a Porsche 911. It attracted A-listers from the likes of John Lennon to Charlton Heston, and Stirling Moss had one, too. His was a 250 SL but he dropped in the bigger, 2.8-litre straight-six from the 280 saloon when that was launched. Whether that inspired the factory to do the same, who knows, but the 280 SL was officially launched soon after.
Part of its broad and enduring appeal is the way it bridges two worlds. The Pagoda could be a luxurious and comfortable grand tourer but had driver appeal as well. The latter wasn't an obvious trait, though. Sure, it came with a wide track and wider tyres than was the norm, but its swing axles were far from cutting edge. The Pagoda also tended to nosedive under braking, which, in turn, made the rear twitchy. Still, that didn't stop it proving quick in skilled hands. In 1963, then Mercedes' development boss, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, lapped a 230 SL round the Montroux test track in France and posted a time of 47.5 seconds. Meanwhile, Ferrari's development driver that year was a chap called Mark Parkes. He went on to become the team's Grand Prix driver a few years later, so he was a bit handy, and when he pedalled a 250 GT SWB around the same track, he was just two-tenths quicker.
Of course, the Pagoda wasn't a brittle, sporting lightweight. It was durable, built to the exacting engineering standards that Mercedes was once synonymous for. The door frames may have been cast in aluminium, with the doors, bonnet and boot skinned in sheets of the stuff, but it still tipped the scales at around 1,300-1,400kg. A contemporary E-Type was nearer 1,200kg. But when you make something strong it tends to last, and in 1963, Eugen Böhringer won the Spa-Sofia-Liège Rally in a race-modified 230 SL - a distance of more than 4,000 miles from Belgium to Bulgaria. The Pagoda was also built with safety in mind, which wasn't really a huge thing in the '60s. It came with a rigid passenger cell and energy absorbing crumple zones at each end. Many of the interior fittings were smoothed off, too. This wasn't just to make it look pretty, it made them less damaging if the Pagoda you were travelling in hit something hard.
But let's get back to its looks. Some open-top cars look great when the roof is down, but Pagoda looks stunning however it's configured. The fact that the hood slots neatly behind the seats and has a flush-fitting cover helps, keeping those clean lines unsullied. Then there's the hardtop that provides the Pagoda with its duality, by making it a fully enclosed, sealed, all-weather coupé. The hardtop also gives the car its name. It comes from the dish in the roof, which draws a visual reference to the curved, multi-tiered pagoda towers you see in Asia.
This particular car has seen nothing of Asia. The advert states that it has spent the majority of its life in the US, in a dry state. Presumably that's referring to the climate and not the consumption of alcohol, because apparently the shell was original with no signs of previous accident damage or welding. It's still been the subject of a full body restoration and repaint in silver. And the navy hood is new, while the navy leather interior has been partially retrimmed. It's also been brought up to European specification. The side repeaters have been removed, new headlights and taillights fitted, along with European bumpers - minus overriders. The whole restoration is documented with over 400 images. Being a 280 means it will have a lovely, torquey six-cylinder engine, softer seats and suspension than other Pagodas, and, in this case, a four-speed automatic. At just under £100,000, it's also a fair price for a restored car in this specification and condition. More importantly than the money, though, it's one of the most beautiful cars ever produced.
Specification | Mercedes-Benz 280 SL Pagoda
Engine: 2,778cc, straight-six, naturally aspirated
Transmission: 4-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 183 @5,900rpm
Torque (lb ft): 193 @ 4,500rpm
CO2: N/A
MPG: N/A
Recorded mileage: 84,000
Year registered: 1969
Price new: £4,800
Yours for: £96,800
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