Hasta La Ideas

The Mercedes 300SL Gullwing has today spawned a subculture of fanatics in the California-based Gull Wing Group, an organization dedicated to preserving these rare machines. With only 1,400 made worldwide and only 1,100 sold in the U.S., it’s quite the select group. They have an annual road rally, where they drive the cars around in a parade that must give insurers heart attacks, and presumably trade tips on where you can order custom-fitted luggage made for their rides.

Owners of that new SLS AMG Gullwing—which I consider an abomination compared to the original—can join the group, but never as full members, and they’re not allowed into the road rally. Hear hear for tradition.

In 2009 auto enthusiast Jay Leno, one of America’s more well-known classic car fanatics and perhaps the luckiest, somehow managed to find a 1955 300SL Gullwing languishing in a storage container. It had been sitting in there since 1980!

I really respect that he decided not to restore the exterior, so that he can actually drive the car around and not have to worry about it getting dinged up. (The following point is somewhat moot since your indigent correspondent will never own a $590,000 car, but if I had one, I’d leave the exterior as-is and drive the ish out of it.)

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