The first production roadster, the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL, is up for auction (36 photos)
At the Bring a Trailer auction, bidding is underway for an unusual Mercedes-Benz 190 SL roadster. The seller claims that this particular car is officially considered the first assembly line copy of the popular model, although it was originally born as an experimental model. 
Mercedes-Benz introduced the 190 SL in February 1954. The roadster was supposed to be an affordable alternative to the famous gullwing 300 SL, with which it shared design style and partly the chassis. At the same time, in fact, the model debuted in the status of a concept car: the development of a production car at that time had not yet been completed.
During 1954, Mercedes-Benz built several experimental vehicles on which it tested assembly line solutions. As a result, this particular example, after a series of transformations, was brought to serial status, after which the car’s units received numbers ending in 00001. The first production 190 SL was not sent for open sale. For several months the car was used on the assembly line as a reference model for quality control of commercial vehicles, and in October 1955 it was made right-hand drive.
It is alleged that a certain British diplomat ordered the conversion. The first private owner owned the car until 1985, after which it went to wander through various collections. In the early 2010s, the Mercedes-Benz 190 SL underwent a deep restoration with complete disassembly of the body and engine, which lasted several years. Now the sports car is equipped with a 1.9-liter gasoline engine with two carburetors - from the factory, such an engine developed from 105 to 120 horsepower on the 190 SL. The engine is supplied with a 4-speed manual transmission.
The vintage roadster's odometer shows 137 miles, but the seller clarifies that the mileage is counted from the time the restoration was completed and the total distance traveled by the 190 SL is unknown. Now they are offering 150 thousand dollars for an unusual Mercedes, but there are still a few days before the end of the auction. 
