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(from Mercedes-Benz
Press Release) The "Pagoda": the W 113 series (1963 to 1971)
-- A comfortable
two-seater touring car featuring high performance and optimum
handling safety
-- Its characteristic roof shape gives it its nickname
-- First SL with a safety body à la Béla Barényi
The Geneva Motor Show of
March 1963 was the scene of a remarkable and well-regarded premiere:
Daimler-Benz presented the Mercedes-Benz 230 SL, a new sports car to
replace two models of the previous sales range. Its two
predecessors, the 190 SL and 300 SL, were extremely popular and
successful from the start. The 300 SL in particular was already a
living legend. However, despite the family likeness the two embodied
fundamentally different vehicle concepts, and that, in particular,
did not make the start of the 230 SL any easier.
The new model took a
middle course, so to speak, between the concepts of the 190 SL and
300 SL: the 230 SL, internally also designated the W 113 series, was
neither an uncompromisingly hard roadster nor a meek boulevard
sports car, but rather a comfortable two-seater touring car
featuring high performance and optimum driving safety. It was
available from summer 1963 in three versions: an open-top car with a
folding soft top that could be operated with the greatest of ease –
that in itself was a minor sensation; an open-top version with
hardtop, and finally as hardtop coupé. The hardtop coupé had no soft
top and soft-top compartment, but in exchange more room for luggage.
All three versions could be driven with the top open. As an optional
extra a rear transverse seat was available, as in the 190 SL.
The exterior of the 230
SL is characterised by clear, straight lines and the unmistakable SL
face including the large, centrally positioned Mercedes star. The
bonnet has a slight additional bulge in the middle to provide space
for the vertically installed six-cylinder engine. The boot is
generously dimensioned. The hardtop with high windows and a roof
borne up only by slim pillars conveys an impression of lightness
which simply does not match the stereotype of a sports car. With its
inwardly directed curvature it reminds one of Far Eastern temples,
and straightaway the car had a nickname before it really even hit
the road: "Pagoda". In addition, because of its shape the hardtop
made it easier to get in and out of the car.
Apart from the wheelbase
– the magic number of 2400 millimetres was taken unchanged from the
190 SL and 300 SL models – the new SL had practically nothing in
common with its two predecessors. All the same, the W 113 series was
not an entirely new design since its technical concept largely
conformed to that of the 220 SE (W 111/3); as two-seater cabriolet
of the "Tailfin" series the SL used that series' frame-floor
assembly, albeit shortened and reinforced, including front and rear
wheel suspension.
In addition to the
standard-fit four-speed manual transmission, for the first time in
an SL a four-speed automatic transmission was available as an
optional extra. A five-speed manual transmission procured from
Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen (ZF) was added as third variant in May
1966.
Safety is the new word
The "Pagoda" is the
first SL in which speed combined with safety. Since its basis is the
floor unit of the famed "Tailfin", the world's first saloon with a
safety body, this SL also had a stiff passenger cell and crumple
zones in the form of easily deformable front and rear segments. This
design goes back to engineer Béla Barényi, who devised many of the
safety features in cars of the Mercedes-Benz brand. As in the Saloon
the interior was designed so as to reduce injury hazards in
accidents, meaning that there were no hard corners and edges. As in
the previous model, seat belts were available as an optional extra.
The steering gear was moved from the crash-imperilled front section
to the firewall; the steering column yields to axial compression and
additionally features a joint that prevents the feared lance effect
in an accident. In 1967 the telescoping safety steering column and
the impact absorber in the steering wheel were added.
Chassis, engine and transmission
The chassis, adopted
from the 220 SE Saloon, is tuned to the requirements of the sporty
car, offering recirculating ball steering, a dual-circuit brake
system and disc brakes on the front wheels. The suspension is taut,
but for a sports car almost atypically comfortable. Damping was
provided by gas-filled shock absorbers, and for the first time an SL
rode on radial ply tyres.
The six-cylinder, which
also came from the Saloon, underwent several major changes, the most
important of which was the transition from a two-plunger injection
pump to a six-plunger unit. This made it possible to "shoot" the
fuel directly through the preheated intake port and the opened
intake valves into the combustion chamber, and not just into the
intake pipe, as before. The M 127 II engine, its bore enlarged to
give it a displacement of 2.3 litres, thus developed 110 kW at 5500
rpm and delivered torque of 20 mkg (196 Newton metres) at 4200 rpm.
Designed very sportily, this drive unit for the SL needed a lot of
revving and did not take kindly to underrevving.
The four-speed
transmission, likewise from the saloon construction kit, was
designed with a slightly lower ratio in 1st gear to achieve sportier
acceleration. It sprinted from 0 to 100 km/h in 9.7 seconds. The top
speed of the fabric-roofed 230 SL was 200 km/h. The variant with the
optional automatic transmission reached a top speed of 195 km/h. In
the eyes of sports car purists the automatic is almost immoral. But
history teaches us a different lesson: by the time the "Pagoda" was
discontinued the automatic transmission's share was around 77
percent. It was much the same with the power steering that was also
available at extra cost. The W 113 series was a pioneer also on that
score: all subsequent SL models always pair exceptionally good
performance with highest levels of comfort. The respectable number
of 19,831 units of the 230 SL were built.
Successors with higher
displacements
On 27 February 1967 the
Mercedes-Benz 250 SL was presented to the public. It replaced the
230 SL that had been produced for four years. On the outside the new
car, series production of which already had begun in December 1966,
could not be distinguished from its predecessor. The changes
concerned mainly the engine and the brake system. Both were taken,
slightly modified, from the 250 SE (W 108 III). The M 129 III
engine, its displacement enlarged by 200 cubic centimetres, had the
same output as the 230 SL, 110 kW at 5500 rpm, but ten percent more
torque and a flatter torque curve. It was now provided with seven
crankshaft bearings for smoother operation, and with an oil/water
heat exchanger as well; only the future 280 SL would get an air/oil
cooler. The 250 SL thus was appreciably more flexible in operation,
but did not quite reach the previous model's top speed owing to its
higher weight. The 250 SL's top speed with four-speed manual
transmission was 195 km/h or 200 km/h depending on final drive ratio
(standard: 1:3.92; optional: 1:3.69; automatic transmission: 190
km/h or 195 km/h). With five-speed manual transmission it was
available in only one variant (1:4.08), which then got 200 km/h.
The changes to the brake
system included disc brakes on the rear wheels as well, larger brake
discs at the front, and the fitting of a brake power regulator to
prevent overbraking by the rear wheels. As an optional extra a
differential lock now was available. A fuel tank capacity of 82
litres instead of the previous 65 permitted an extended cruising
range. In addition to the three body versions known from the 230 SL,
the 250 SL was available as an optional extra in a fourth version, a
Coupé with rear seat bench, which was shown for the first time in
March 1967 at the Geneva Motor Show. In this so-called California
version, the necessary space for the rear bench seat had been
obtained by eliminating soft top and soft-top compartment. Since the
soft top could not be retrofitted, this variant promised unspoilt
driving pleasure only in dry regions or with mounted coupé roof.
Less than a year since
the presentation of the 250 SL, after 5196 units had been built it
was replaced by the 280 SL. Apart from the model plate it could only
be distinguished on the outside from the two preceding models by the
changed wheel embellishers.
In the wake of the
market launch of the intermediate range models of the 114/115
series, not only the luxury-class Saloons, Coupés and Cabriolets,
but also the SL got a 2.8-litre engine. Thanks to a camshaft with
changed valve timing, the variant of the M 130 engine used in the
280 SL mobilised 7.4 kW more than the base version of the 280 SE,
developing 125 kW at 5750 rpm. Compared with the 250 SL the power
had been increased by around 15 kW and torque by ten percent. For
the first time the radiator fan was fitted with a viscous coupling
which limited the rotational speed. The 0 to 100 km/h was in the
vicinity of nine seconds and the top speed again came up to the
level of the 230 SL, i.e., 200 km/h in the fabric-topped version.
Its suspension, designed for further enhanced comfort, was softer.
The service intervals were 10,000 kilometres instead of 3000.
23,885 units of the fast
and reliable Mercedes-Benz 280 SL rolled off the assembly line. All
in all, from 1963 to 1971 a total of 48,912 "Pagodas" were built –
remarkable for a sports car with such high standards. Today its high
overall quality, its elegance and its clear lines make the W 113
series a coveted item among restorers and collectors.
The W 113 series in the press
The motor magazine auto
motor und sport, Germany, No. 6, 1963, characterised the
Mercedes-Benz 230 SL: "A sports car that does 200 km/h, goes from 0
to 100 km/h in less than ten seconds, yet has the smooth engine
running characteristics and comfort of a touring car."
A detailed test report in auto motor und sport, Germany, No. 21,
1963, added: "The upshot: the 230 SL is one of the most refined
sports cars ever. All the same it deserves to be numbered among the
truly sporty vehicles because it not only delivers sporty
performance, but is as compact and safe-handling as should be
expected of a sports car. ... And finally, you can push the 230 SL
at a very fast pace if you wish, but you can also maintain the
slowcoach tempo that traffic conditions so frequently force upon
us."
