Sometimes a miracle takes a sense of proportion and a special crane made by Colonia. The Mercedes 300 SL Coupé from 1955, painted in a shimmering silver and weighing nearly one and a half tons, caused a lot of headaches before being moved to the MAKK – Museum für Angewandte Kunst Köln: This centrepiece of the design collection couldn’t be brought into the building through the foyer, and can’t fly despite its wing doors, and so had to be brought in from above in the courtyard. This heavyweight car then had to be moved inside with special machinery. Finally, thanks to the adjustable window front in the exhibition hall, it was brought to its designated spot in the MAKK.
This car is certainly worth the effort, as no more than 1400 units were made of this high-end coupé (also known as Gullwings for their doors that open upward) between 1954 and 1957. Among those lucky few who have owned a Mercedes Gullwing are big names like Clark Gable, Tony Curtis, Sophia Loren, Reza Shah Pahlavi, Gunter Sachs, and Herbert von Karajan. With a maximum speed of 260 km/h, the Gullwing was the fastest serial sports car of its time.
Rüdiger Müller