When the new touring sports car of the R 107 series was presented in April 1971, the issue of whether to a new large Coupé should be developed at Mercedes-Benz still remained unanswered. Karl Wilfert, then the head of Body Design in Sindelfingen, developed – pretty much on his own authority – a Coupé based on the R 107 and presented it one day to the Board of Management as a “rough draft”. Rejected at first, Wilfert managed to push through his idea of a sports Coupé with the tenacity which was so characteristic of him. And so six months after its premiere the SL Roadster was followed in October 1971 by a comfortable four-seater Sports Coupé, the 350 SLC, whose unconventional lines also found it many friends around the world in the course of the years. The series was given the internal designation C 107. In 1972 Mercedes-Benz launched the 450 SLC, whose engine (M 117) developed an output of 165 kW at 5000 rpm. Top speed was 215 km/h, and it needed 8.8 seconds to go from 0 to 100 km/h.
#c107 #450slc #m117engine #oldbenz
source: Mercedes-Benz Classic ALL TIME STARS
