Today we have Corgi’s #303 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster and #304 Hardtop
300 SL Roadster, Corgi #303
There were a lot of releases of this casting over the years; therefore its history is quite hard to sort out. It came out first in 1958 as an open Roadster with no suspension. In 1961 it gained suspension and became the 303S. In 1963 it got a driver and in 1964 it got spoked wheels. You will see it in white, off-white, shades of blue and plated silver. The interior can be blue, yellow or brown; it may or may not have a driver in a grey suit with a red bow tie; and it may or may not have a racing stripe and racing numbers.
Any of the above in mint condition still in its box will be worth good money. Top value is for the 1961 release white car, with suspension, no driver, blue seats and racing stripe or the 1963/64 plated car with a driver and with or without spoked wheels.
300 SL Hardtop, #304
The first Corgi hardtop was released in 1959, a year after the open sports car. Those first releases are yellow with a red top or yellow all over and do not have suspension. In 1961 it was given springs and two new finishes, vacuum plated in silver or gold with a red top or white with a red top. In 1964 it was given spoked hubs before being deleted in the same year.
The ones to look out for are the all-yellow car without suspension and the white/red car with suspension as both are hard to find and priced a lot more highly than the other versions.
Corgi’s Unique Suspension for their 300 SL
The 1961 ‘S’ releases of both the 303 and 304 added suspension to the 300 SL which is unique in the Corgi range. The usual way for Corgis to get suspension is to have the axles fitted into slots so that they can move up and down and to provide a spring wire down each side of the car. The 300 SL instead has a small butterfly spring for each axle.
The 1:1 Roadster
There was no doubt that Mercedes-Benz had a hit on their hands with their spectacular 300 SL Gulling. The car’s looks, performance, and brilliant engineering captivated the automotive world, and it proved to be a runaway success for M-B. After production ended on the iconic Gullwing Coupe, the marque was eager to add a convertible version to its lineup.
A prototype of this new model was first spotted in the summer of 1956 at Stuttgart, by the German magazine Auto, Motor und Sport, while the production model would later debut at the 1957 Geneva Motor Show. Mercedes-Benz described it as their
“response to the demand in many countries for a particularly fast, comfortable, open sports car. This automobile offers a wide range of technical achievements for even greater driving safety and motoring comfort as well as a high standard of practical everyday value for touring in real style.”
By the end of 1957, the final 70 of the 1,400 Coupes and the first 618 of the 300 SL Roadsters were assembled.
Along with a convertible top, the 300 SL brought a host of advancements to the already state-of-the-art 300 SL platform. The central section of the 300 SL’s space-frame chassis was lowered, the sills were smaller, and the doors were enlarged, in order to allow improved entry and exit. Strength was maintained with the addition of diagonal struts, which braced the lowered side sections to the rear tubular members. The rear suspension was also revised with a single-point swing axle and an additional coil spring to allow for a more comfortable ride and improved handling. At the rear, the spare tire was repositioned below the trunk floor, necessitating a smaller fuel tank but also maintaining reasonable luggage space. While these revisions added some 250 pounds, with the majority of the weight being associated with the convertible top and its mechanisms, the car remained an excellent performer, with a factory-claimed 137 mph top speed.
Detail differences included larger front fenders, larger ‘euro’ headlights, a smaller grille, a rounder front windscreen and a chrome accent strip running down the side of the car.
Like the Coupe, the Roadster was available with a wide array of options, some of the more desirable include the hardtop, knock-off Rudge wheels and fitted rear luggage
Just like the Coupe, the 300 SL Roadster proved to be the vehicle of choice for those with brilliant taste in aesthetics and cutting-edge engineering. As such, many wound up in the garages of celebrities, racing drivers, and other financially successful individuals. With a list price of $11,000, ownership of a 300 SL Roadster was a dream to most when the car was new, but to those with the funds to spare, the car was worth every penny. To those looking to make a statement with the purchase of a new car, there was simply no better option available for purchase in 1957.