1960 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL

Sammlung Sonderklasse - Auction

Lot 080: 1960 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL

Vehicle description

ONE OF ONLY AROUND 5,000 EUROPEAN EXPORT CARS

PRESERVED IN STUNNINGLY ORIGINAL CONDITION

WITH ITS ORIGINAL HARD-TOP AND SKI-RACK

PERHAPS THE BEST PRESERVED 190 SL

Technical details

Year: 1960

Chassis N°: 121.040-10-018034

Engine N°: 121.921-10-018178

Body N°: A121.040-10-0135

Paint: 334 LIGHT BLUE

Interior: 955 LEATHER GRAY

Provenance

1960 UNKNOWN, MILANO, IT

31/08/1965 GIACOMO SPEROTTO, MILANO, IT

27/05/1968 SIG. BOZZA, MILANO, IT

17/01/1975 PIETRO RIGHETTI, MILANO, IT

02/02/2008 FABRIZIO MORETTI, VIDIGULFO, IT

Documents

ITALIAN CARTA DI CIRCOLAZIONE (1965)

FIVA IDENTITY CARD (2014)

About the model line

W 121 B II

The idea for the 190 SL came from a native of Vienna who would later become Mercedes-Benz’s New York importer: Max Hoffman. He urged the board in Stuttgart to do something about the company’s—putting it politely—rather conservative model range. Specifically, he envisioned a road-going version of the 300 SL racing car, complemented by an elegant boulevard cruiser built around far more conventional mechanicals. Sure enough, two such prototypes stood side by side at the New York International Motor Sports Show in February 1954.

In the space of just a few months, the 190 SL had been designed and engineered, based on the proven mechanical components of the W 120 and W 121 series. Its four-cylinder engine was an entirely new design, although by no means exclusive to the new sports car. Before long, it would also find its way into the saloon range. Equipped with twin Solex carburettors, the 1.9-litre engine produced a respectable 105 horsepower. At the time, that was more than sufficient to leave the vast majority of other motorists behind, although outright speed was never its strongest suit. Mercedes therefore described the 190 SL in its sales brochures as a „Touring Sports Car.“ While its styling clearly drew inspiration from the 300 SL, the similarities ended there. Beneath its elegant bodywork lay not the spaceframe of its celebrated stablemate, but a shortened version of the saloon’s unitary platform.

By the time the prototypes were unveiled in New York, development of the 300 SL was already considerably further advanced than that of the 190 SL. It would take another year before the latter was ready for series production. The final production version was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in the spring of 1955, and just two months later production commenced in Sindelfingen. Several prototypes were fitted with six-cylinder engines, but series production was abandoned after projected manufacturing costs proved too high and the company’s board refused to give its approval.

Ultimately, the 190 SL was offered in three different configurations: as a Roadster with a folding soft top, as a Coupé with a detachable hardtop, and as a Roadster equipped with both hardtop and soft top. The brochure also featured a lightweight Sports version. Weight was reduced by means of a smaller windscreen, aluminium doors without side windows and the omission of the bumpers. Mercedes hoped to improve the car’s performance and make the 190 SL more attractive to private competition drivers. With only 17 examples built, however, the venture met with rather limited success.

The production models told a very different story. In the end, Max Hoffman was proven right. Like the 300 SL, the 190 SL became an unexpected success, particularly in Hoffman’s adopted home across the Atlantic, where the majority of cars were delivered and sold at considerably lower prices than in Germany. By the end of production in 1963, almost 26,000 examples had been built. Mercedes retired both the 190 SL and the 300 SL—by then available exclusively as a Roadster—and replaced them with a single successor: the 230 SL.

Auction information

Auction: 07 November 2026, 14:00

Auction house: Humer Granner & Co

Starting price: 30,000 EUR

Reserve: No reserve

Viewing: 05. November 2026 10:00 – 18:00, 06. November 2026 09:00 – 18:00, 07. November 2026 ab 09:00

Location: Gewerbeparkstraße 17, 4101 Feldkirchen an der Donau, AT

Bidding: In person · Online live · Telephone · Written bid

Auction registration: Schriftliches Kaufangebot, Als Telefonbieter, Online - live

Contact: Wolfgang Humer, +43 650 7262524 / Reinhard Granner, +43 699 17127272

About the auction

This Mercedes-Benz is part of the Sammlung Sonderklasse, one of the largest private Mercedes-Benz collections in Europe. The entire collection will be auctioned from 5 to 7 November 2026 in Feldkirchen an der Donau, Austria. All 83 cars are offered without reserve.

The collection also includes around 1,000 automobilia items and several fully furnished rooms, which will be auctioned on 6 and 7 November by Ni-Cola Classics. Please note that if you want to bid on automobilia, you must register in advance at nicola-ac.de. You can also view all lots at https://auction.nicola-ac.de/

The car auction starts on Saturday 7 November at 14:00, and you can bid in person or online. The cars can be viewed on Thursday 5 November from 10:00 to 18:00. Please note that if you want to bid on this car, you must register in advance with Humer Granner at https://hg.auction/auktionen/auktion-november-2026/.

You can order the catalogue at metropole-auction.com. It also serves as your admission ticket for two people. The catalogue does not replace registration with the auction house.

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