The Little Brother

In the 1950s the motoring world was changing, particularly in America. GIs had returned home from Europe after World War II and brought with them an appreciation of the small sports cars that seemed to be everywhere. So while Detroit was churning out big bodied behemoths with equally large engines, some Americans turned toward imports to find smaller, lighter cars that were better on curves than on straight-aways.

The first to migrate to the states were the British roadsters. But a Diamler-Benz importer named Max Hoffman convinced the Stuttgart firm that a street version of their latest racer would be a big hit in the USA. When it was introduced in 1954, the 300 SL with its gullwing doors was everything the company hoped it would be. Except it was too expensive for most American's.

So the following year they brought out the 300 SL's little brother, the 190 SL. Built on a shorter frame and powered by a brand new in line four cylinder single overhead cam engine that pumped out 104 horse power and 105 foot pounds of torque. The car was a true sports car grand tourer and even it's fans agreed that it was a bit rough around the edges.

One reason was that Mercedes incorporated many of the pieces from the larger, more powerful 300 SL into this smaller version. For example, the engine block for the six cylinder 300 SL was used for the smaller 190 SL. While the 85 mm bore was identical on both models, the 190 SL had its stroke shortened nearly five mm.

Still, the 190 SL was a true Sport Leicht or Sport Lightweight vehicle and with the larger 300 SL made up the first generation of the Mercedes SL Class of cars. Sold until 1963, the car was available with either a soft top or a removable hard top.

By the time Mercedes had decided to replace their first generation SL line with the new 230 SL in 1936, the 190 SL had taught them a lot about the American market, what they wanted and what they were willing to pay for it. All of the SL Class cars that have followed learned from those initial lessons and each subsequent model improved on what was really begun with that first generation little brother of a car.