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Книга Mercedes-Benz R129 (фрагмент тексту)

The first four generations of the SL family of sport roadsters, which greatly contributed to popularizing the Mercedes-Benz brand, were produced from 1954 to 1989. You can read more about these cars in the corresponding volume of our book series.

The history of the 5th generation, designated R129, began in 1983 under the leadership of Bruno Sacco, the chief stylist of the concern. Johann Tomford, a talented designer who had been part of the Mercedes-Benz creative team for 13 years and had previously worked on other models for the company, played a significant role in the project.

By mid-1984, out of two dozen sketches and promising design options, Tomford’s version was chosen as the basis for the final version of the new roadster. “We dreamed of creating a sports car that we would like to drive ourselves,” Johann recalled. “Aesthetic appeal was crucial, and we always kept in mind that it had to remain relevant for at least 10 or 12 years.” Today, it’s clear that the creators of the new roadster succeeded fully. Looking at this elegant car, it’s hard to believe that its production began more than a third of a century ago.

Its balanced forms and timeless design continue to attract the attention of beauty connoisseurs. However, exterior design work was just part of the extensive process of designing the new car. Creating a car “from scratch” required significant efforts from the company’s engineers, who focused on body design with a special emphasis on safety.

The most crucial element for protecting the driver and the single passenger was the complex safety arc located between the seat backs, along with the drive mechanism elements for the folding top. Interestingly, aside from automatic activation in emergencies, it could also be manually activated via a button on the transmission shaft.

This design was a first for a production vehicle. Key active safety features such as ESP and Brake Assist were also incorporated into the R129 vehicles.

The new generation of SL sports roadster made its debut at the prestigious Geneva Motor Show in March 1989. Buyers could choose from several model variations with gasoline engines of different displacements and power: 300 SL, 300 SL-24, and 500 SL.

Conceptually and ideologically, the new car continued the evolution of the luxury sports car theme but introduced fresh solutions in both construction and design. To meet demand, SL production was shifted from the Sindelfingen plant to the Bremen facility.

Such was the car’s popularity that the annual production volume of 20,000 vehicles couldn’t satisfy demand, resulting in a several-years-long waiting list for buyers. Wealthy customers were willing to pay speculators more than 10,000 DM over the list price to secure immediate delivery of the coveted roadster.

Read more about the continuation of the Mercedes-Benz R129 story in the book.

Other books in our series cover the history of Mercedes:

• Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
• Mercedes-Benz W186-W100
• Mercedes-Benz W202
• Mercedes-Benz W163 (ML)
• Mercedes-Benz W108-W112
• Mercedes-Benz W115/W114
• Mercedes-Benz W201
• Mercedes-Benz W210
• Mercedes-Benz W116
• Mercedes-Benz W140
• Mercedes-Benz W126
• Mercedes-Benz W124
• Mercedes-Benz W123
• Mercedes-Benz G-Class