The Mercedes that almost never was

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The Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing is today one of the most easily recognisable and desirable post-war sports cars, but it very nearly didn't make it into production. Mercedes had no plans to sell replicas of its crude but successful 300SL sports-racing car at all, and most likely the productionised version would not have seen the light of day if it hadn't been for the efforts of car dealer extraordinaire Max Hoffman.

Hoffman's New York agency for imported sports and luxury cars, housed in a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed showroom on Park Avenue, was the golden ticket to American sales for many of the smaller European manufacturers. Famously, he convinced Porsche to devise the Speedster – the first of many US-biased models from the firm and today perhaps the most desirable Porsche of all.

So important was his custom to the German firm, he easily twisted the arms of the Mercedes top brass and placed an order for 500 road-going 300SLs. It took another two years of development before the cars were ready for sale, but the result was a technical tour de force that became the perfect emblem for the company's engineering prowess. Being pitched at the very top end of the market didn't affect sales, and demand outstripped supply. It was a huge success for both manufacturer and importer alike. Anyone who has driven or even simply admired a Mercedes Gullwing owes Hoffman a debt of gratitude.

Karl Ludvigsen was one of the lucky few to own one – part-exchanging a Renault Dauphine to acquire it – and in the latest issue of The Automobile he tells the story of the car's development and explains what it is really like to live with one of these European exotics.

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