Mercedes-Benz 300 SL

Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing, styled by Friedrich Geiger, 1954 Here the famous feature was forced by the structure. Engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut gave the car a tubular lattice spaceframe, one of the first true spaceframes on a road car, and its sides ran so high that conventional doors would not fit. Hinging the doors from the roof solved the problem, and Friedrich Geiger shaped the body into the silhouette people still sketch from memory. It made its debut at the 1954 New York motor show, pushed into production by importer Max Hoffman, who promised to buy at least 500 cars. A lesson in how honest engineering can produce the most glamorous shape on the road.