View source for Mercedes-Benz 190 SL

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox automobile
| image          =MB 190 SL am 2006-07-16 (ret kl).JPG
| name           = Mercedes-Benz 190 SL
| manufacturer   = [[Daimler-Benz]]
| aka            =
| production     = 1955–1963 <br/> 25,881 built<ref name=DeAutos45bis90Oswald>{{cite book |last=Oswald |first=Werner |title= Deutsche Autos 1945–1990, Band 4|year=2001 |publisher=Motorbuch Verlag |location=Stuttgart |isbn=978-3-613-02131-0}}</ref>
| assembly       = West Germany: [[Stuttgart]] Untertürkheim
| successor      = [[Mercedes-Benz W113]] (230SL)
| class          = [[Sports car]] / [[Grand tourer]] 
| body_style     = [[Roadster (automobile)|roadster]]
| layout         = [[FR layout]]
| platform       = [[Mercedes-Benz W120/121|Mercedes-Benz W121]]
| engine         = 1,897&nbsp;cc [[Mercedes-Benz M121 engine|''M121'']] [[SOHC]] [[Inline-four engine|I4]]
| transmission   = 4-speed manual, fully synchronized
| wheelbase      = {{Convert|2400|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}
| length         = {{Convert|4290|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}
| width          = {{Convert|1740|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}
| height         = {{Convert|1320|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}
| weight         = {{Convert|2552|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}
| related        = [[Mercedes-Benz W198]] (300 SL)<br/>[[Mercedes-Benz W120/121]]
| similar_cars   = 
| designer       =
}}
: ''See [[Mercedes-Benz SL-Class]] for a complete overview of all SL-Class models.''
[[File:Mercedes-Benz W121BII 1X7A0281.jpg|thumb|right|Interior]]

The '''Mercedes-Benz 190 SL''' (W121) is a two-door luxury [[Roadster (automobile)|roadster]] produced by [[Mercedes-Benz]] between May 1955 and February 1963. Internally referred to as '''W121''' (BII), it was first shown in prototype at the 1954 [[New York Auto Show]], and was available with an optional removable hardtop.

==Design==
The 190 SL presented an attractive, more affordable alternative to the exclusive [[Mercedes-Benz 300 SL]], sharing its basic styling, engineering, detailing, and fully independent suspension. Both cars had [[double wishbone suspension|double wishbone]]s in front and [[swing axle]]s at the rear.  Instead of the 300 SL's expensive purpose-built W198 tubular [[Space frame#Cars|spaceframe]], the 190 SL's structure used a shortened [[unibody|unitary]] floorpan modified from the [[Mercedes-Benz W120/121|W121]] base saloon.<ref name="ritz190SLp2">{{cite web|url=http://www.ritzsite.net/190SL/02_190SL.htm |title=RitzSite Mercedes-Benz 190 SL 1955–1963; page 2 |publisher=Ritzsite.net |year=2002 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060405012850/http://www.ritzsite.net/190SL/02_190SL.htm |archivedate=5 April 2006 |accessdate=9 June 2019}}</ref>

The 190 SL was powered by a new, slightly oversquare {{convert|105|PS|kW hp|abbr=on}} Type M121 BII 1.9&nbsp;L straight-four [[SOHC]] engine. Based on the 300 SL's straight six,<ref name=Autocar196610>{{cite magazine |editor-first=Maurice A. |editor-last=Smith |title = Used cars on test:1960 Mercedes-Benz 190SL Coupé | series = 125|magazine=Autocar| issue = 3689| pages =944–945| date = 28 October 1966}}</ref> it had an unchanged 85&nbsp;mm bore and 4.3&nbsp;mm reduced 83.6&nbsp;mm stroke, was fitted with twin-choke dual Solex carburetors, and produced gross {{convert|120|hp|kW PS|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Autocar196610/> In detuned form, it was later used in the [[Mercedes-Benz W120|W120]] 180 and W121 190 models.

The car was available either as a soft-top convertible (initially priced at DM 16,500/US$3,998<ref>{{citation | first = Mike | last = Covello | title = Standard Catalog of Imported Cars 1946–2002 | publisher = Krause Publication | location = Iola, WI | date = 2002 | isbn = 0-87341-605-8 | page = 528 }}</ref>) or with removable hardtop (DM 17,650/$4,295). A small third-passenger transverse seat was optional. During its first years the 190 SL was available as a sports-racing model with small perspex windscreen and spartan one-piece leather covered bucket seats and aluminium doors. In 1959, the hardtop's rear window was enlarged.

In 1956, a few six-cylinder prototypes were built for testing. A 190SL with a unique engine, using the 300SL block, squeezed into the engine bay with a one-off mix of Benz-bin parts was entered in the 1956 Alpine Rally, but the costs of production would be prohibitive. Two other prototypes, fitted with fuel injected M180 220SE engines were baptised the W127 / 220SL. In June 1956, Rudi Uhlenhaut and [[Karl Kling]] lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in the two W127s 25 seconds faster than a regular 190SL.<ref>[https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1955-1963-mercedes-benz-190sl5.htm 1950s Mercedes-Benz 190SL Development | HowStuffWorks]</ref> On 12 April 1957, MB's board decided to build the W127, six-cylinder 220SL alongside the 190SL, but production challenges postponed manufacturing until it was overtaken by the [[Mercedes-Benz W113|Mercedes-Benz 230SL]] 'Pagoda'.<ref>[https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1955-1963-mercedes-benz-190sl6.htm Mercedes-Benz W127 | HowStuffWorks]</ref>

Both the 190 SL and the 300 SL were replaced by the 230SL in 1963.

==''Super-Leicht'' or ''Sport-Leicht''==
<!--Some content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Mercedes-Benz W198]]; see its history for attribution.-->
Mercedes-Benz did not announce what the abbreviation "SL" meant when the car was introduced.

It is often assumed that the letters stand for ''Sport Leicht''. One car magazine in 2012 declared that the abbreviation "SL" - "securitized and personally signed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut" meant ''Super Leicht''.<ref name="AMS-Heft10-2012">{{cite magazine |first=Jochen | last = Übler |magazine=Auto, Motor und Sport, Mercedes SL-Spezial 2012 |title=Trimm's Leicht |issue=10 |at=pp.&nbsp;14–17 |issn=0005-0806 |date=19 April 2012 |language=German }}</ref> This contradicts another source, written in close cooperation with [[Rudolf Uhlenhaut]], which stated that the abbreviation meant ''Sport Leicht''.<ref>{{citation |first1=Günter | last1 = Engelen | first2 = Mike | last2 = Riedner | first3 = Hans-Dieter | last3 = Seufert |title=Mercedes-Benz 300 SL |edition=2 | page = 31 |isbn=978-3-613-01268-4 |date=1999 |language=German }}</ref>

Mercedes-Benz used both forms until 2017. It was even called Super Super.<ref name="Classic-1-2002">{{cite magazine |first = Gerold | last = Lingnau |magazine=Mercedes-Benz Classic |title=300SL – Die Ikone wird fünfzig |issue=1 |pages = 10–22 |issn=1610-8043 |date=2002 |language=German }}</ref> On the company website it was called ''Sport Leicht'' until 2017 and then changed to ''Super Leicht''.<ref>[http://media.daimler.com/marsMediaSite/ko/de/9904191 media.dailercom]; ''Motorsport als Zündfunke: Der Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Rennsportwagen der Baureihe W 194 (1952–1953), aufgerufen am 25. Juli 2017''.</ref>

For a long time it was unclear what intention the company had at the time when assigning the letter combination. It was not until the beginning of 2017 that a chance finding in the corporate archive, from the early part of 1952, clarified that at least in the case of the 300 SL the abbreviation SL stood for ''Super-Leicht''.<ref>Foto: [http://img.zeit.de/mobilitaet/2017-04/dokument-sl/wide__660x371__desktop Dokument des Namenvorschlags] in: ''Die Zeit'', 14. April 2017.</ref>

{{multiple image
 |align = center
 |direction = horizontal
 |total_width = 420
 |image1 = 1961 Mercedes Benz 190 SL - silver - rvr.jpg
 |caption1 = 1962 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL fitted with softtop
 |image2 = Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F013679-0008, Afrikanische Botschafter in Deutschland, Mercedes 190 SL.jpg
 |caption2 = 1962 Mercedes-Benz 190SL with removable hardtop
}}

==Technical data==

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Technical data Mercedes-Benz 190 SL<ref name=DeAutos45bis90Oswald/> ''(Manufacturer's figures except where stated)''
|-
! style="width:25%;"|Mercedes-Benz
! style="width:75%;"|190 SL
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Produced:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"|1955–1963
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Engine:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"|[[I4 engine|4-cylinder-inline engine]] ([[four-stroke]]), front-mounted
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Bore x Stroke:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"|85&nbsp;mm x 83.6&nbsp;mm
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Displacement:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"|1897 cc
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Max. Power @ rpm:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"| {{convert|105|PS|kW hp|abbr=on}} @ 5700
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Max. Torque @ rpm:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"| {{convert|142|Nm|lbft|abbr=on}} @ 3200
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Compression Ratio:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"|8.5: 1, from 09/59 8.8:1
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Fuel feed:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"|  twin two barrel sidedraft carburetors – Solex 44PHH
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Fuel tank capacity:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"|  {{Convert|65|L|usgal impgal|1|abbr=on}}
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Valvetrain:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"| [[SOHC]], duplex chain
|- style="background:#eee;"
|  Cooling:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"|Water
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Gearbox:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"| 4-speed manual, lever between seats <br/>  rear-wheel drive, standard axle ratio 3.90:1
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Electrical system:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"| 12-volt{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Front suspension:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"| Double wishbones, coil springs, stabilizing bar
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Rear suspension::&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"| Swing axle, coil springs
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Brakes:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"| Drum brakes (Ø 230&nbsp;mm), power assisted
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Steering:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"| Recirculating ball steering
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Body structure:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"| Sheet steel, uni-body construction
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Dry weight:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"|{{convert|1160|kg|lb|abbr=on}} (Hardtop: + {{convert|20|kg|lb|abbr=on}})
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Loaded weight:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"|{{convert|1400|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, from 1961 {{convert|1440|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Track front/<br>rear:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"|{{convert|1430|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} {{convert|1475|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Wheelbase:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"| {{convert|2400|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Length:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"| {{convert|4290|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Width:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"| {{convert|1740|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Height:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"| {{convert|1320|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Tyre/Tire sizes:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"| 6.40–13 Sport
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Top speed:&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"|{{convert|173|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}
|- style="background:#eee;"
| Fuel Consumption (estimate):&nbsp; || style="text-align:center;"|{{convert|12.5|L/100 km }}
|}

==See also==
{{Commons category|Mercedes-Benz W121BII}}
* [[Mercedes-Benz SL-Class]]
* [[Mercedes-Benz Classic Center]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
<!-- last updated October 2023 -->
* {{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=James |title=Mercedes-Benz Ponton and 190SL: The Complete Story |date=2023 |publisher=The Crowood Press |location=Ramsbury, Marlborough, UK |url={{GBurl|UrqjEAAAQBAJ}} |isbn=9780719842276}}
{{refend}}

{{Mercedes-Benz SL-Class lineage}}
{{Classic Mercedes-Benz vehicles}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mercedes-Benz vehicles|190SL]]
[[Category:Rear-wheel-drive vehicles]]
[[Category:Roadsters]]
[[Category:1960s cars]]
[[Category:Cars introduced in 1955]]