The Mercedes-Benz R 230 SL launched on the market 25 years ago. It embodied the properties of a sporty touring car in its purest form. With outstanding comfort, sophisticated performance and a timeless design, it was equally suited for relaxed long-distance touring as well as dynamic driving. With technical and safety innovations such as the vario-roof, the R 230 carried the Mercedes-Benz SL tradition into the 21st century. All of this now makes it a highly sought-after modern classic. At the same time, the model series represents a generational shift in the SL tradition: never before had an SL so consistently combined the classic virtues of a roadster with the technological opportunities of its times.

The vario-roof makes the R 230 a true master of transformation: at the touch of a button or via remote control, it can be opened or closed in just 16 seconds. Eleven hydraulic cylinders, 17 limit switches and numerous sensors perform the precisely choreographed sequence – and even rotate the rear window around its horizontal axis so that luggage capacity increases when the roof is open. The R 230 therefore unifies the advantages of a sports coupé and a roadster. As a world first, it also came with a panoramic vario-roof featuring a glass element. This creates the feeling of driving in the open air even when the roof is closed.

Particularly exclusive are vehicles with special equipment features from the designo programme, a predecessor of today’s MANUFAKTUR lines of equipment options. Bespoke exterior colours, premium nappa leather, two-tone colour combinations and select trim elements give these vehicles an unmistakable character. To this day, SL models with designo equipment options remain among the most desired variants of the model series.

The SL 500 celebrated its world premiere in Hamburg’s Deichtorhallen on 31 July 2001. With its 5-litre V8 and 225 kW (306 hp), it marked the beginning of a model range with an exceptionally broad performance spectrum – from comfortable touring car all the way to high-performance sports car. Shortly after the market launch, the range was extended to include the SL 55 AMG, featuring a V8 supercharged engine delivering 350 kW (476 hp). The range went on to reach its pinnacle with the V12 biturbo-powered SL 600 and the SL 65 AMG Black Series with 493 kW (670 hp).

Just two days before the world premiere of the new SL model series, the general public already witnessed a sporty representative in action. At the German Grand Prix on 29 July 2001, the SL 55 AMG took over as the Formula 1® Safety Car. Even before its official unveiling, the new model series thus demonstrated its sporty character. In its 12/2001 issue, specialist magazine “sport auto” shared its first impressions of the new SL generation: “The new model is not only visually stunning and technically extremely appealing, it also reveals itself as […] no stranger to genuine sporting capability.”

The R 230 also set new standards in safety. Its passive safety concept is based on a body structure which strategically combines high-strength steel, aluminium, magnesium and various plastics. Thanks to its lightweight construction the R 230 is 20 per cent more torsionally rigid than its predecessor, the R 129. A newly developed head-thorax side airbag, combining the functions of a window airbag and a side airbag, reduces the risk of injury in case of an accident. Optimised aerodynamics also offer occupants better protection from draughts when driving with the roof down, while the drag coefficient value is significantly reduced to 0.29 compared to the R 129 (c_d = 0.32).

Today, the R 230 is regarded as one of the defining Mercedes-Benz vehicles of the early 2000s. The vario-roof, distinctive design language and wide range extending from the comfortable touring car all the way to high-performance AMG versions have all contributed to the status of the model series as sought-after modern classics. A total of 169,433 sports cars were built at the Mercedes-Benz Bremen plant between 2001 and 2011. Their high level of reliability and excellent corrosion protection have ensured that many well-preserved examples remain on the road today.

An den R 230 und die nachfolgende Baureihe R 231 richtet sich das Mercedes-Benz Garantie-Paket MB-80. Es deckt unerwartete Reparaturkosten an Powertrain- und Elektronikkomponenten bei bis zu 20 Jahre alten Fahrzeugen mit bis zu 200.000 Kilometern Laufleistung ab. Reparaturen erfolgen mit Mercedes-Benz Classic Original-Teilen und dem Know-how der Mercedes-Benz Niederlassungen. MB-80 ermöglicht Kunden erstmals, nachträglich eine Mercedes-Benz Garantie für ein Fahrzeug zu erhalten. Abschließen können Kunden das Garantie-Paket bei allen autorisierten Mercedes-Benz Partnern in Deutschland.

Further research and multimedia material: mercedes-benz-archive.com/museum

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Seit Carl Benz vor 140 Jahren das Patent für das erste Automobil angemeldet hat und Gottlieb Daimler kurz darauf die Motorkutsche baute, hat sich Mercedes‑Benz der stetigen Innovation verschrieben, um die begehrenswertesten Autos der Welt für seine Kundinnen und Kunden zu bauen. Dieser Anspruch hat jede Innovation vorangetrieben – vom ersten Automobil der Welt im Jahr 1886 bis hin zur aktuell laufenden größten Modelloffensive der Unternehmensgeschichte. Mit Leidenschaft für Leistung und Pioniergeist, Exzellenz und konsequenter Kundenorientierung hat die Marke mit dem Stern stets die Zukunft der Mobilität geprägt. Das Ergebnis geht weit über technische Errungenschaften hinaus – es schafft das unverwechselbare Gefühl, für das Mercedes‑Benz in seinem ganzen Wirken steht: Welcome home.

Mercedes‑Benz feiert 140 Jahre Innovation und schickt drei neue S‑Klasse Limousinen auf eine transkontinentale Reise zu 140 Zielen weltweit. Jeder Ort stellt die Technologie, das Erbe, den Pioniergeist und die weltweite Präsenz der Marke heraus. Unterwegs können Kundinnen und Kunden, Fans sowie Kolleginnen und Kollegen an den Feierlichkeiten teilhaben – auf einer epischen Reise, die bis Oktober dauert. Verfolgen Sie die „140 Years. 140 Places“-Tour über sechs Kontinente in unserem „140 Years of Innovation | Mercedes‑Benz Media“-Special sowie in der Mercedes‑Benz Community.