Hi Gang,

This is my first post here and at this point, I do not own a Mercedes. I have always lusted for a 380 or a 450SL (both convertible) with their vintage, classy looks but I have some questions about them, as in the future, I may be interested in purchasing one.

- Does anyone have a website they can point me to that shows all of the convertibles that Mercedes made for the past 25 years? I'm not exactly sure what model or year I'm looking for. Hopefully, a sight with pictures, model numbers and engine info will give me more to go on.
- Does the 2 door 450SL ever come in a hardtop only or is it only removable hardtop/convertible?
- As for the convertibles (mainly the 450), how is the handling? Nimble and agile or is there a lot of body roll? Engines are mainly V6 I'm guessing?

Sorry for all the questions, I'd just like to get to know some more info before I think about purchasing something like this.

 

450 SL's were imported to the US from 1973 until 1980 when the enging size was changed to 380. 380's ran from '81 though '85. In '86 the engine was changed to 560 and they stayed with that engine until the end of the 107 chassis production run in1990.
The body on these cars are basically the same, but have some minor changes such as the use of aluminum hood, recessed door handles, and 3rd stop light, to name a few. Other engines were offered in European versions including 2.8 inline 6 and 5.0 V8.
Very early US cars were badged 350SL, but had 4.5 engines. All US version cars had V8 engines. All US 107 Roadsters had Soft Top and Removable Hard Top. The 107 was also offered in the SLC version (2+2). The SLC had a non-removable hard top.