- "The car that brought Mercedes-Benz its first victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans."
- ―In-game catch text for the car, from GT7's car collection
The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (W194) '52 is a vintage race car produced by Mercedes-Benz. It appears in Gran Turismo 7.
It is based on the #21 (chassis number CN.194 007/52) driven by Hermann Lang and Fritz Reiss at the 1952 24 Hours of Le Mans, and finished 1st place overall.
In-game description[]
- "The type W194 300SL is one of the more notable Mercedes-Benz machines from the Golden Age of racing of the 1950s. A champion at Le Mans and Carrera Panamericana, the car is also known for inspiring the iconic 300SL Coupe. Designed by Rudolf Uhlenhault, a legendary car designer with a vast amount of experience in race car design, the Mercedes-Benz W194 300SL boasted the latest in the race technology of its day. It featured a spaceframe chassis, an independent suspension and a single-overhead camshaft inline-6. Only ten were believed to have been built. Thanks to its excellent performance and reliability, the car shone in endurance races. This car, chassis number 007/52, is the car that won Le Mans. If a W194 were to hit the market now, the price would surely be astronomical."
- ―In-game description of the car, from GT7's Legend Car Dealership
Car Index[]
To many, the 300 SL name represents Mercedes-Benz's classic sports coupé that first appeared in 1954, but the 300 SL moniker actually originated with a prototype race car built by the company for its factory team.
Codenamed W194, the 300 SL race car featured an aluminum tube frame and improved versions of the engine and suspension from the W186 300. It weighed just 1918 lbs, and the inline-6 was tuned to produce 169.6 HP.
This very car, chassis number 194007/52, went out and won the 1952 24 Hours of Le Mans on its debut race, then two months later, after having its roof removed to cut 220 lbs from its racing weight, took the checkered flag at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. Naturally, its success on the race track convinced the execs at Mercedes-Benz to create a production version, which we now know as the "Gullwing 300 SL".
Café Conversations (GT7)[]
Hideo Kodama[]
Here we have a design that is incredibly rational yet undeniably attractive. The W194, also known as the 300SL. In 1952 it claimed wins at Mille Miglia, Bern, and the Carrera Panamericana.[1] It also took first and second place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car's most distinguishing feature is its upswinging 'gullwing' doors. Hence its nickname, the 'Gullwing'. The design was owing to a space-frame chassis that ran through the lower half of the car.
Acquisition[]
| Game | Purchase location | Credits | Other methods |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gran Turismo 7 | Legend Cars | 20,000,000[2] | --- |
Trivia[]
- This is the oldest Le Mans-winning car featured in the series.
- However, it is not tagged as a Le Mans car in-game.
- This and the Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion '97 are notable for an extreme price increase in the Legend Car Dealership, with this car's price increasing from Cr. 11,000,000 to Cr. 20,000,000 (with the latter increasing threefold from Cr. 3,000,000 to Cr. 9,000,000).
- The likely reason for its price increase is that it references the real-world increase in value of all Mercedes-Benz 300 SL and 300 SLR models, as the 1955 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe set a record for the most expensive car ever sold in an auction, with a value of roughly $143,000,000, which is said to be the price of the Ferrari 250 GTO twice over.
- Its value of Cr. 20,000,000 may indicate a possible "ceiling price" for cars sold in-game; the economic term refers to the maximum value of which a product or service can be sold at.