A 1955 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL claimed to be the first of its kind to roll off the assembly line is currently up for bidding in the USA. It underwent a restoration that took nearly 10 years to complete, and is now being traded for $150,000 with quite a bit of time remaining until the auction closes.
The original 190 SL debuted at the annual auto show in New York as a toned-down alternative to the legendary 300 SL. However, the company highlighted back then that it was an experimental prototype – Mercedes was still working on the production model at the time. Several more vehicles like that had been produced until this example was assembled and deemed production-ready.
Mercedes equipped the roadster with everything befitting a production car, making sure to that all units and components had serial numbers ending in 00001, but decided not to sell it. Instead, the company had spent several months using it as a reference car for quality assurance. In the fall of 1955, Great Britain asked Mercedes-Benz for a vehicle fit for a diplomat, and the company decided to hand over this particular roadster. The engineers transferred the wheel to the right-hand side, and the car was delivered to the UK Embassy in October that year.
The diplomat’s family had used the vehicle until 1985. It had changed multiple owners since then, and one of them paid for a complete restoration. The car had its interior retrimmed and its 1.9-liter twin-carb engine rebuilt. Back in its prime, the 190 SL drove its wheels with roughly 120 PS (118 hp / 88 kW).
The listing fails to mention the total mileage. The odometer shows 220 km (137 miles) post-restoration.