Imagine you, a member of the public, are driving about in your Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing and minding your own business. As you do. Suddenly, while stopped at a light, the inattentive driver behind you taps the back of your car with his. You would have become a murderer that day, but because Mercedes is now selling reproduced body panels for 300SL Gullwings, you don’t have to be. Mercedes pretty much saved that guy’s life.
Using a combination of optimized 3D data from original panels and then pounded into shape using wooden mallets, Mercedes says via a press release that these new panels are highly accurate to the originals. And since only 1,400 Gullwings were built between 1954 and 1957, they’d better be.
I’d imagine that chasing down these panels before the reproductions came around was terrifyingly difficult and expensive. But, thanks to this new process, the price has come down to the point where it’s practically a steal:
- Front panelling left (A198 620 03 09 40), 11,900 euros (approximately $14,000)
- Front panelling right (A198 620 04 09 40), 11,900 euros (approximately $14,000)
- Rear panelling left (A198 640 01 09 40), 14,875 euros (approximately $17,740)
- Rear panelling right (A198 640 02 09 40), 14,875 euros (approximately $17,740)
- Rear-end center section (A198 647 00 09 40), 2,975 euros (approximately $3,500)
- Rear-end floor (A198 640 00 61 40), 8,925 euros (approximately $10,640)
I noticed that a door panel is curiously missing from this list. What if I just wanted one (1) Gullwing? How much would that be?
No answers could be found on the release. Sad.