1981 Mercedes-Benz SLC - 500 SLC

One of only 2,769 5-liter-SLC ever made

Timeless color combination and many options

Only two registered Austrian owners to date

Only 146,390 documented kilometers

Chassis no.: WDB10702612002652

Engine no.: 117.960-12-003591

Body no.: 00364

Production no.: 1709250

Paint: 735 Astral Silver Metallic

Interior: 932 Velours Blue

Factory options:

251 Becker radio set Mexico with full stereo cassette recorder, electronic

256 Rear axle with limited-slip differential

363 Incomplete delivery slip (for SAS and KWS)

406 Single seat with orthopaedic front seat backrest, left and right

410 Sliding roof, electrically operated

470 Anti-lock braking system (ABS)

502 Outside rear view mirror, on the right

531 Automatic antenna

570 Folding armrest, front

592 Heat-absorbing glass, wrap-around, heated rear window pane (compound glass), band filter

606 Headlamp wiper unit, oil for rear axle with limited-slip differential in canisters and containers and mounting for customs license plate

621 Export license plate (elimination of license plate moulding)

636 Deletion – warning triangle

656 Michelin tires

660 80 liters of fuel

870 Electric seat heater for left front seat

Provenance:

21/07/1981 – Helmut Konaschke, Telfs, AT

25/06/1993 – Claudia Bettina Neuper, Telfs, AT

Documents:

Austrian Typenschein (1973)

Original service booklet

About the model line:

R/C 107

In 1971, Mercedes-Benz unveiled the new SL. It was tasked not only with replacing the eight-year-old Pagoda but also with filling the void left by the last of the elegant W 111 Cabriolets and Coupés. Just a few months later, it was joined by the closed-roof SLC. Stretched by a few centimetres, it at least gave the impression of offering four proper seats.

Visually, the two models marked the end of Mercedes‘ era of vertically stacked headlamps. In their place, the headlights now sat horizontally alongside the three-pointed star in the radiator grille—a design cue that would define generations of Mercedes-Benz models to come. Up to the windscreen, SL and SLC were virtually identical. From there on, however, the Coupé followed its own path: a low roofline, a distinctive double-curved rear window set at a pronounced angle, and a gracefully elongated tail. The chrome louvres on the C-pillars became one of its most debated styling features. These clever visual screens created the illusion that the rear side windows disappeared completely into the bodywork, while in reality the upper section that remained visible was simply concealed behind them.

When it came to comfort and optional equipment, customers could indulge themselves almost without limit—provided their wallet was deep enough. Engine choices, however, were rather more straightforward. At launch, the familiar 3.5-litre V8 was the only option available. Customers across the Atlantic, as had already been the case with the W 111 and W 112, were offered an extra litre of displacement. Before long, the 4.5-litre V8 also became available in Europe, only for the oil crisis to shift priorities towards greater economy. Mercedes responded in 1974 with the 280 SL and 280 SLC, powered by a twin-cam inline-six. No sooner had the crisis passed than engine capacities began to grow once more. A lightweight 5.0-litre aluminium V8 arrived in 1978, and in 1980 the 350 gave way to the 380.

After an absence of 22 years, Mercedes-Benz returned to international competition in 1977 with the SLC. This time, however, it traded smooth tarmac for gravel, exchanging the World Sports Car Championship for the gruelling world of long-distance rallying. The London–Sydney Marathon immediately brought success, with two 280 E saloons securing a one-two finish. For the 1978 season, Mercedes prepared three new 450 SLC 5.0 competition cars. To satisfy homologation requirements, the production models also received aluminium bonnets and a discreet rear spoiler on the boot lid. At the *Vuelta a la América del Sur*, Mercedes celebrated an astonishing one-two-four-five finish. In 1979, the five-litre SLCs contested the World Rally Championship. Hannu Mikkola announced their arrival with a remarkable second place in the Safari Rally, before the season finale on the Ivory Coast produced an emphatic one-two-three-four finish for Mercedes, led home by Mikkola ahead of Björn Waldegård, Andrew Cowan and Vic Preston. Mercedes returned in 1980 with a further-developed version of the SLC for several World Championship events, adding more podium finishes and another commanding one-two result on the Ivory Coast.

For the 1981 season, Mercedes signed none other than reigning World Champion Walter Röhrl. Yet before the opening round in Monte Carlo, the company unexpectedly withdrew from the championship and brought all factory motorsport activities to an end. Instead of defending his title, Röhrl was left watching from the sidelines for an entire season.

While its open sibling went on to become the longest-produced SL generation in Mercedes-Benz history, the arrival of the W 126 S-Class Coupé brought the SLC’s career to a close in 1981. By then, almost 63,000 examples had been built. It had been Mercedes-Benz’s first true grand tourer—and for many years, its last. The SL, meanwhile, remained in production until 1989 and received a comprehensive facelift in 1985, together with an entirely new engine range. Export markets even gained the mighty 5.6-litre V8 from the S-Class, bringing the legendary 560 SL to life