European Sports Cars of the Fifties by Henry Rasmussen

Perhaps the great European sports car of the 1950s was the the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (chassis code W 198) is a two-seat sports car that was produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1954 to 1957 as a gullwinged coupe and from 1957 to 1963 as a roadster. The 300 SL traces its origins to the company's 1952 racing car, the W194, and was equipped with a mechanical direct fuel injection system that significantly increased the power output of its three-liter overhead camshaft straight-six engine. The 300 SL was capable of reaching speeds of up to 260 km/h (162 mph), earning it a reputation as a sports car racing champion and making it the fastest production car of its time. The car's iconic gullwing doors and innovative lightweight tubular-frame construction contributed to its status as a groundbreaking and highly influential automobile. The designation "SL" is an abbreviation of the German term super-leicht, meaning "super-light", a reference to the car's racing-bred lightweight construction. CREDIT: Wikipedia.