Lot 26: Mercedes-Benz 450SL

Looking more handsome with every passing year, the W107 series Mercedes SL was built at a time when the Stuttgart firm still had a reputation for building cars that made granite feel a bit flimsy. Fast, comfortable and discreetly understated, it has a matchless ability to munch up the miles for year after year without ever seeming to falter. No wonder it stayed in production fundamentally unaltered from 1971 until 1989. The cars came in a wide range of engine sizes using both straight-six and V8 engines, but one of the best was the 450SL V8 which developed 225bhp and 278lb/ft of torque, that propelled the bruiser to a top speed of 130mph. A big favourite among the Hollywood jet-set (two thirds of all these cars went to the States), no episode of Dallas was complete without an SL sweeping up to a Texan billionaire's ranch. Looking particularly striking in yellow with tan upholstery, this particular example is variously described by the vendor as being in "very good" (electrical equipment, interior trim, bodywork, paintwork) or "excellent" (engine, automatic transmission) condition. Reportedly "painted at some time in its life", it is further understood to possess an "original service book stamped to the current mileage of 86,500." Riding on correct type steel wheels, this tempting Mercedes-Benz is offered for sale with both hard and soft-tops and MOT certificate valid until October 2009.