Classic Mercedes-Benz owners welcome the sun with a “Pagoda Fun Run”

By Alvin Uy February 07,2014

Despite the absence of creature comforts, the visceral feeling one gets from driving a classic roadster is priceless. PHOTO by Alvin Uy

The Mercedes-Benz Club of the Philippines (MBCP) held its first monthly breakfast meeting of the year at the Palms Country Club in Filinvest City last January 26th and what was to be a typical gathering of Mercedes-Benz owners and enthusiasts became a special day for lovers of the tri-star brand as a dozen classic Mercedes-Benz W113 SL owners held a fun run from Shell Magallanes and met up with them and held an impromptu classic car display. A number of these owners were actually not members of the club but upon the invitation of Felix Ang, president of CAT Motors, the country distributors for Mercedes-Benz, Rene Nunez, president of MBCP together with Dan Henares, whom were also all are classic SL owners came up with the idea of doing a Sunday drive to coincide with the breakfast meet. Classic car aficionado and business tycoon Ramon Ang also graced the occasion driving along his very rare and finely restored Mercedes-Benz W111 280SE cabriolet. Aside from discussing the club’s agenda for the year, members and MBCP guests traded restoration tips and stories about their beloved cars. Plans are underway to do another “Pagoda run” with the onset of summer season.

The W113 Mercedes-Benz SL is a second generation iteration of the SL, it came out in two variants, a roadster and a coupe version. Like its two-seater predecessor, it has become very popular among classic car collectors and due to its demand, prices have skyrocketed in recent years. Introduced at the 1963 Geneva Motor Show, this SL was produced from 1963 to 1971, replacing the 300SL (W198) and the smaller 190SL (W121). Only 48,912 W113 SL’s were produced and probably only a small fraction remains in the hands of collectors nowadays.

Penned by designers were Paul Bracq and Bela Barenvi, this SL became known as the “Pagoda” Mercedes-Benz because if its distinctive and patented concave hardtop. Locally, this model is also known as the “Mr. Slim” Mercedes-Benz, because it appeared in a cigarette ad of the same name in the 1970s. This coupe/roadster sportscar has three six-cylinder engine variants – the 230SL, the 250SL and the 280SL that came in both manual and automatic transmissions. Its hood and trunk lid, door skin panels and the tonneau cover were made of aluminum to reduce body weight, which was unique and expensive to produce in the 1960s.

With a short but wide chassis, paired with a well-engineered suspension and powerful brakes, the car offered superior handling and performance compared to sportscars of its time. Typical of Mercedes-Benz sportcars, the front design had a dominant 3-star logo and a large and wide yet elegantly styled chrome grille. Its raised fenders and Bosch “fishbowl” headlights gave the front design its timeless and classic look reminiscent of its four-door sedan models of that age.

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