Photo: Daimler AG
The 2013 ADAC Eifel Rally Festival took place between 25 and 27 July, offering a variety of testing stretches for classic rally cars. Although now fielded exclusively as a luxurious and sporty grand tourer for the road, the Mercedes-Benz SL has had its fair share of motorsport presence in the past, rallying included.
The Classic division of Mercedes-Benz fielded a rally version of the R107 500 SL, which was driven by Bjorn Waldergard, who is no stranger to winning rallies while driving a Mercedes, having mastered the Bandama Rally at the wheel of a 500 SLC in 1980.
The rally variant of the R107 500 SL brought at the ADAC Eifel Rally Festival was oddly based on the roadster road car, having been designed as a successor to the coupes that the three-pointed star brand was deploying in rallying competitions at the time.
With a shorter wheelbase, the 320 horsepower M117 V8 and a lower final drive ratio that sacrificed top speed for a better acceleration, the rally 500 SL was no grand tourer, especially taking into account a differential lock with an 80% locking effect and a weight reduction from 1586 to 1350 kilograms.
Thoroughly tested by none-other than famed Walter Rohl during pre-season, the rally version of the R107 SL never got to actually race in an international competition, since the Swabian brand had decided right before the 1981 rally season to focus more on road car production, transforming the race-approved car into a rather interesting and unique piece of automotive history.
The rally variant of the R107 500 SL brought at the ADAC Eifel Rally Festival was oddly based on the roadster road car, having been designed as a successor to the coupes that the three-pointed star brand was deploying in rallying competitions at the time.
With a shorter wheelbase, the 320 horsepower M117 V8 and a lower final drive ratio that sacrificed top speed for a better acceleration, the rally 500 SL was no grand tourer, especially taking into account a differential lock with an 80% locking effect and a weight reduction from 1586 to 1350 kilograms.
Thoroughly tested by none-other than famed Walter Rohl during pre-season, the rally version of the R107 SL never got to actually race in an international competition, since the Swabian brand had decided right before the 1981 rally season to focus more on road car production, transforming the race-approved car into a rather interesting and unique piece of automotive history.
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