Mercedes-Benz 350 SLC
Mercedes-Benz 350 SLC Mercedes-Benz 350 SLC
Moscow in the early 1970s Zhiguli is becoming familiar, but the most prestigious brand is still Volga. Of course, a new one - this epithet stuck to the "twenty-four" firmly and for a long time. The wits half-jokingly-half-seriously dubbed her also the Soviet Mercedes. Still would! Who was driving them on Mercedes cars?
Swabian Goldfinch
The wide armchair is now called shapeless, the steering wheel is excessively light and uninformative, and the gearbox is thoughtful. Well, what have not you pleased yet? Overclocking is weak? This coupe is not about that. Not about the so-called sportiness, which even family hatchbacks and hulking all-terrain vehicles now trump. It is not for the "rider", who, having nestled in a seat as hard as knightly armor, erases tires on asphalt of varying degrees of roughness.
This Mercedes has already won its main race (by the way, even a factory rally version existed at one time) - a race against time. In addition, the 3.5-liter engine and now can not be called weak: it accelerates the car confidently and even assertively. By the way, the passport maximum speed is no less than 212 km / h. And what a sound! It’s a pity that words can’t be displayed.
3.5 liter V8 injection engine at 5800 rpm develops 195 hp and 286 Nm at 4000 rpm
3.5 liter V8 injection engine at 5800 rpm develops 195 hp and 286 Nm at 4000 rpm. 3.5 liter V8 injection engine at 5800 rpm develops 195 hp and 286 Nm at 4000 rpm.
The brakes on the control algorithm are quite modern. Here the box does not really work fast. And where to rush on such a coupe? Sitting in this chair, worthy of a living room in an aristocratic family home, shaking a light steering wheel, looking at the world on top of the golden hood shining in the sun, you are imbued with calmness and even a certain softness to the world around. It seems that everyone else is also good. That's why such cars existed and exist!
EXHIBITION OF ACHIEVEMENTS
In the spring of 1973, long lines stood for the pavilion in the capital's Sokolniki. Indeed, Daimler-Benz, one of the most (if not the most) respected companies in the USSR, brought to Moscow an unprecedentedly vast exposition for our country, comparable from the point of view of a motorist, except perhaps with the American exhibition of 1959.
The Germans put up copies of the first wagons of Benz and Daimler. And of course, modern models, including trucks and buses. And in the midst of all this splendor stood almost the same color 350 SLC. Looking at this car, even connoisseurs no longer clicked their tongues - they were silent.
The base is longer than the roadster. Thanks to this, they achieved good comfort for the rear passengers
The base is longer than the roadster. Thanks to this, they achieved good comfort for the rear passengers. The base is longer than the roadster. Thanks to this, they achieved good comfort for the rear passengers.
Having brought their achievements to a country where it’s not like Mercedes cars - they didn’t sell cars from the socialist countries, the Stuttgart company, of course, knew what it was doing. After all, even under socialism there were individuals to whom cars with a star were affordable and in a rank. On Moscow streets there were foreign cars with ordinary, black numbers, which were issued to citizens of the USSR, and not just with whites, which were distinguished by foreign cars. There was a rumor in Moscow that the 350 SLC coupe had been brought for the Secretary General, who was supposed to attend the exhibition and then receive a gift. But "dear Leonid Ilyich" either fell ill, or simply did not intend to. And the car after the exhibition remained, they say, in the embassy of Germany.
And a few years later, such a coupe, and a very similar color, fashionable in those years, appeared in Vladimir Vysotsky. The artist bought a car from a certain Iranian millionaire who lived in the USSR for a long time. Vysotsky, who also had a W116 Mercedes sedan, rarely drove a two-door, but many knew about it. Moscow of that time was a small city …
GERMAN EXTRACT
In 1971, the Mercedes-Benz roadster with the factory designation R107 made its debut, replacing the model known to fans as the “pagoda” - they named it for its characteristic roof line. On the 107th, as on the previous car, it was possible to install a hard cap-roof. But the 1971 model has a new modification - a full-fledged coupe with a base enlarged by as much as 360 mm and a rear seat quite spacious for a two-door car.
There is nothing superfluous in the cabin, but there is everything that a real thoroughbred Car needs
Inside, there is nothing superfluous, but there is everything that a real thoroughbred Car needs … Inside there is nothing superfluous, but there is everything that a real thoroughbred Car needs …
… and these are not capacities with electronic multimedia gadgets
… and these are not capacities with electronic multimedia gadgets. … and these are not capacities with electronic multimedia gadgets.
The model absorbed all the achievements of automotive thought of those years: powerful and reliable engines, an automatic transmission as an option (without it, on the American market, where two-door Mercedeses were very much appreciated, it was useless to pop into it) and, of course, power steering, disc brakes for everyone wheels, completely independent suspension.
The car, of course, was not cheap; in 1973, the owner of the 350 SLC model could become a respected gentleman, who posted 31, 400 marks. For comparison: the Volkswagen Beetle in a standard configuration in those years cost a little more than 5, 000 brands. True, the closest competitor of the Mercedes three-liter BMW-3.0CS cost a little cheaper than the car from Stuttgart: 30 300 marks.
Today, at comparable prices, this Mercedes (BMW, of course, too), like aged brandy, is much more expensive. And besides, you can still ride it today without exhausting yourself with the hard work necessary to drive many old cars, but having fun. This golden coupe from Stuttgart also looks like the cognac of the longest exposure.
Mercedes-Benz 350 SLC
Mercedes-Benz 350 SLC Mercedes-Benz 350 SLC
CLASS FRIEND
Mercedes-Benz 350 SLC (factory designation C107), unified with the SL (R107) roadster, debuted in 1971. The cars were equipped with a 3.5-liter V8 engine with a power of 195 hp, since 1976 - 200, and since 1978 - 205 forces, a four- or five-speed manual gearbox or a three-speed (since 1980 - a four-speed) automatic machine. Since 1972, they also produced the 450 SLC version (4.5 l, 225 hp), from 1974 - 280 SLC with a 2.8-liter 185-horsepower “six”, and from the 1980 modification 380 SLC (3.8 L, 218 HP) and 500 SLC (5 L, 240 HP). In total, until 1981, they collected 62, 888 copies, of which 13, 925 - 350 SLС models.
