Mercedes-Benz SL History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
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Model history available. Detailed year guides are not published for this model.
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The SL ('Sport Leicht') line began with the 1950s 300SL and 190SL and continued through the long-lived R107 (1971–1989), R129 (1989–2001), R230 (2002–2011), and R231 (2012–2020).
The current R232 (2022–present) is engineered by AMG, returns to a soft top, and adds small rear seats — sharing its platform with the AMG GT.
Generations
R107
The long-lived 1970s–80s SL; over 230,000 R/C107 built.
R129
Crisp 1990s SL with an automatic pop-up roll bar.
1995 Photo: “1995 Mercedes-Benz SL” by LikeDrinkingPoison / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
R230
Introduced a retractable folding metal hardtop.
2002 Photo: “2002 Mercedes SL350” by hugh llewelyn / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Cropped to 16:9.
2003 Photo: “2003 Mercedes SL 55 AMG Convertible” by Calreyn88 / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
2004 Photo: “2004 Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG FOS21” by MrWalkr / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
2005 Photo: “2005 Mercedez SL350 (44453249531)” by Hugh Llewelyn from Keynsham, UK / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Cropped to 16:9.
2007 Photo: “2007 Mercedes SL55 Auto” by Calreyn88 / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
2008 Photo: “2008 Mercedes-Benz R230 SL 65 AMG V12 Bi-Turbo in Majestic Black Metallic, front left” by Ethan Llamas / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
2011 Photo: “2011 Mercedes-Benz SL550 in Obsidian Black, Front Right, 07-15-2022” by Elise240SX / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
R231
Lighter aluminum bodyshell; folding hardtop.
2013 Photo: “2013 SL 550 - side” by Ssu / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
2017 Photo: “2017 Mercedes SL400 (R231 model) 3.0 litre V6 at Chatham Quays, 31 July 2020” by hugh llewelyn / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Cropped to 16:9.
R232
AMG-engineered, back to a soft top, with 2+2 seating; shares the AMG GT platform.
Body styles
- Roadster
- Coupe
Notable special editions & performance variants
SL63 / SL65 AMG
AMG performance SLs — twin-turbo V8 (SL63) and bi-turbo V12 (SL65). US per-generation: SL65 (R230) 2004–2011; SL63/SL65 (R231) ~2013–2019; SL63 (R232) from 2022.
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