Down on the Amsterdam Street – Mercedes-Benz 560 SL (R107)

Antti Kautonen

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Comments

sl1

Thought the Amsterdam stuff was all posted during last week? Not quite, as there is plenty of stuff left for this week too. Here is a white 1988 Mercedes R107-style 560 SL, and it’s even a Federalized version with the heavy bumpers. Take a peek.

sl2

The white Mercedes wears Kanaldeckel wheels, which is more than fitting here. Unfortunately, in addition to the US bumpers, it also has had chrome wheelarch trims slapped on, and those always seem somehow superfluous.

sl3

The car has been sold by Park Place Motorcars in Dallas at some point. Interesting.

sl4

The hardtop always looks funny on these, as they’re a lot more good looking with the top down or off. But in February, it’s alright if you want to keep the hat on.

sl5

Another thing is that I ran the plates with ovi.rdw.nl, and the car is marked as a 500SL there. Weird, since if I drove a 500SL, I totally wouldn’t need to slap a 560 badge on it. So it’s either that, or a database mistake.

csi

The SL wasn’t the only US-import European car we saw, as this 635CSi automatic was found parked on a shady side street.

[Images: Copyright 2013 Hooniverse/Antti Kautonen]

About

Antti Kautonen

Antti Kautonen

The resident Finn of Hooniverse. Owns old Peugeots and whatnot, writes long thinkpieces on unloved cars. These two facts might be related.

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12 responses to “Down on the Amsterdam Street – Mercedes-Benz 560 SL (R107)”

  1. BЯдΖǐL-ЯЄРΘЯΤЄЯ Avatar
    BЯдΖǐL-ЯЄРΘЯΤЄЯ

    So this is where Sue Ellen got, old luxury hooker in Amsterdam.

    Reply
    1. TurboBrick Avatar
      TurboBrick

      So that's what killed her gubernatorial campaign!

      Reply
  2. synchromesh Avatar
    synchromesh

    I don't get it, why would somebody drag one of these to Europe all the way from US? I'm sure there are plenty of real European versions from that era around which generally tend to be better.

    Reply
    1. duurtlang_ Avatar
      duurtlang_

      Importing makes sense when it's cheaper to import a decent one from the US than to get a decent local one. That's probably what happened here. I've seen Dutch places that specialize in importing old Mercs from the US. It's not incredibly common, but it happens. A bonus of the US specced cars is that they usually had many upgrades as standard, while in Europe Mercedes charged very heavily for those options. My friend with his Mercedes w124 with a 4 speed manual gearbox and manual windows is a clear example. Another upside of (southern) US imports is that they're usually rust free, while due to our salted Dutch roads local old Benzes with some kilometers on them aren't as untainted.

      Reply
      1. FuzzyPlushroom Avatar
        FuzzyPlushroom

        What does bewilder me is why you wouldn't source better headlights and bumpers from a breaker's yard… although there are European Volvo enthusiasts who go nuts for our (comparatively terrible) headlights, just as we do for theirs. The grass is always greener, I suppose, even if American grass is spray-painted.

        Reply
  3. dculberson Avatar
    dculberson

    Park Place! What a small world, that's where I order Lexus parts from when I need OEM parts. They give a great price on internet parts sales, well under what even other dealerships with online stores charge. Well, "great price" being relative, they are Lexus parts. Toyota seems to think they're made of gold and dipped in guacamole. At least they don't break often.

    Reply
    1. Dean Bigglesworth Avatar
      Dean Bigglesworth

      Be careful they don't put strychnine in the guacamole…

      Reply
  4. rutylink Avatar
    rutylink

    Chrome wheel accents??!! – please continue to pull the car forward…..

    Reply
  5. salguod Avatar
    salguod

    Those hardtops looked odd because the center section is flat from side to side, no arc. Without the traditional convex shape that nearly every other car has, it ends up looking concave instead.

    Reply
  6. Fritzo2162 Avatar
    Fritzo2162

    On a side note, I wonder how many cars fall into the water when parking there. I bet it happens once a week 🙂

    Reply
  7. eam3 Avatar
    eam3

    The BMW could very well be a Euro model since those bumpers became standard on the E24 in 1988. Although the orange side reflectors would make it a US spec model. Hmm…

    Reply
  8. Alff Avatar
    Alff

    Parked at the edge of the canal as it is, it must belong to one of the "ladies who launch".

    Reply