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Description

Built in 1964 and registered in Germany, the car remained there until the 2000s, after being imported to Italy. From that time on, all invoices and work carried out over the last 26 years for ordinary and extraordinary maintenance are available. Most of the invoices are official Mercedes, worth over €60,000.

Currently registered in Italy in April 2026, it has an ASI CRS dated 2025.

Incredibly and extremely rare, all the original Mercedes manuals pertaining to this car are available, including the service booklet and owner's manual.

Bodywork, mechanics, and upholstery are in excellent condition. The car is being sold with its original color-matched hardtop.

Model history and curiosity

The Mercedes-Benz 230 SL (W113 series), unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1963 and produced from 1963 to 1967 (with 1964 marking its first full year on the market), is famously known by the nickname "Pagoda." This moniker stems from the concave design of its removable hardtop, conceived by designer Paul Bracq and engineer Béla Barényi.

The hardtop's recessed shape was not merely a stylistic choice but offered practical advantages: it improved structural rigidity, increased headroom, and ensured superior panoramic visibility thanks to slender pillars and expansive windows.

The 230 SL is powered by a 2.3-liter inline-six engine (M127.II) featuring Bosch mechanical fuel injection, capable of delivering 150 hp and propelling the car to a top speed of approximately 200 km/h.

It was the first sports car designed with a safety body featuring programmed deformation—a rigid passenger cell with shock-absorbing front and rear zones—and equipped with standard front disc brakes.

The 230 SL simultaneously replaced the legendary 300 SL "Gullwing" and the more accessible 190 SL. Mercedes-Benz successfully balanced sportiness with a high level of everyday driving comfort, defining the modern concept of a luxury grand touring roadster. In 1963, it also demonstrated its ruggedness by winning the grueling Spa-Sofia-Liège Rally, driven by Eugen Böhringer.

The car could be ordered in four main configurations: Roadster (soft top only), Roadster with Hardtop (both roofs), Coupé (fixed hardtop only, no soft top), and the rare California Roadster version (featuring a folding rear bench seat in place of the soft-top compartment). Transmission options included the standard 4-speed manual and an optional 4-speed automatic; a rare 5-speed ZF manual transmission was introduced in 1966.

The interior was designed with a meticulous focus on safety, featuring a padded dashboard free of sharp edges, a steering wheel with a collapsible hub, and a single multifunction turn-signal lever.

First-series W113 models (1963–1964) are particularly sought after by collectors for the purity of their original design, including features such as rear drum brakes and period-correct interiors rich in chrome metal detailing.

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