Mercedes-Benz 190 SL

Mercedes-Benz 190 SL at a glance

Development and production history

The 190 SL was conceived as a smaller roadster sharing the look of the 300 SL. Karl Wilfert and Walter Häcker designed it, and a prototype was shown at the 1954 New York Auto Show. Production started in May 1955.

Under the skin the 190 SL is a different car from the 300 SL. Instead of the W198's tubular spaceframe, it uses a shortened version of the unitary floorpan of the W121 saloon. It shared the styling, engineering details and fully independent suspension of its bigger sister, with double wishbones at the front and swing axles at the rear. The 300 SL itself is described in our Mercedes-Benz 300 SL article.

Changes during production were small. The compression ratio was raised from 8.5:1 to 8.8:1 in September 1959, the hardtop's rear window was enlarged the same year, and the loaded weight was raised to 1,440 kg from 1961. Production ended in February 1963, when the W113 230 SL replaced both the 190 SL and the 300 SL.

Design and engineering

The 190 SL carries the styling and detailing of the 300 SL in a smaller format. It is 4,290 mm long, 1,740 mm wide and 1,320 mm high on a 2,400 mm wheelbase, with front and rear tracks of 1,430 mm and 1,475 mm. Kerb weight is given as 1,158 kg, and the hardtop adds 20 kg. An optional small transverse seat could take a third passenger.

Early cars could be ordered in a sports-racing version with a small Perspex windscreen, one-piece leather bucket seats and aluminium doors. Mercedes-Benz never officially explained the letters "SL". They are often read as Sport Leicht ("sport light"); a 2012 magazine article claimed Super Leicht, and a 2017 archive find indicated that "Super-Leicht" was the meaning used for the 300 SL. The SL family that grew from these two cars is covered in our Mercedes-Benz SL-Class article.

Engine and drivetrain

The M121 BII engine is a 1,897 cc single-overhead-camshaft four-cylinder with a bore of 85 mm and a stroke of 83.6 mm. With two twin-choke Solex 44PHH sidedraft carburettors it produces 77 kW (105 PS) at 5,700 rpm in the specifications table of English Wikipedia. The text of the same article quotes a gross figure of 89 kW (120 hp). Torque is 142 N·m at 3,200 rpm. Power goes through a fully synchronised four-speed manual gearbox to the rear wheels, with a standard axle ratio of 3.90:1. The fuel tank holds 65 litres.

A six-cylinder version was considered several times. In 1956 a one-off 190 SL with a six-cylinder engine based on the 300 SL block took part in the Alpine Rally, but production costs were too high. In June 1956 Rudolf Uhlenhaut and Karl Kling lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in two six-cylinder W127 prototypes 25 seconds faster than a standard 190 SL. The board approved a 220 SL on 12 April 1957, but the project was delayed and finally overtaken by the 230 SL. Our power converter turns the PS and hp ratings into kW.

Mercedes-Benz 190 SL specifications

Variants and derivatives

Rivals and the 190 SL in numbers

English Wikipedia names the Porsche 356 1600 S as a rival. The Porsche had 65 kW (87 hp), weighed 850 kg and cost DM 3,000 less than the Mercedes, so the 190 SL was the heavier and more expensive of the two. Other Porsche models are in the Porsche catalogue.

The published figures allow a few simple comparisons. The 1,897 cc engine produces about 40.6 kW per litre. With a kerb weight of 1,158 kg and 77 kW, each kilowatt has about 15 kg to move. The Porsche, with 65 kW (87 hp) and 850 kg, had about 13 kg per kilowatt, which explains why the lighter car was the sportier choice. The hardtop raised the launch price by DM 1,150 (about 7%) and the weight by 20 kg. Spread over the almost eight years of production, the 25,881 cars correspond to roughly 3,300 a year. Our power-to-weight calculator makes the same comparison for any other pair of cars.

The comparison shows the character of the Mercedes: a roomier, heavier open car with a removable hardtop and a third-seat option, aimed at touring more than at racing, even though early cars could be ordered with lightweight sports-racing equipment.

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