Driving the 300 SL: A Journey Through Time and Distance

As I stepped into the driver's seat of the iconic Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and nervousness. This was a car that had been on my mind for quite some time, and now it was finally here, ready to take me on an unforgettable journey through the countryside roads of Italy. The goal was to experience what it's like to drive this legendary car on a proper rally event, specifically the Mille Miglia, which promises to be one of the most iconic events in automotive history.

The Mille Miglia is an annual automobile race that takes place over 1,000 miles, from Rome to Brescia and back again, with stops in various picturesque towns along the way. The event attracts thousands of spectators and participants alike, making it a true spectacle for car enthusiasts and racing fans. As I prepared for my drive, I couldn't help but think about the rich history behind this event. The Mille Miglia was born out of the passion of car enthusiasts in Italy who wanted to showcase their vehicles on long-distance rallies, creating a legendary competition that has been going strong since 1927.

As we set off from Mercedes-Benz Classic, my heart was racing with anticipation. I had always been fascinated by this car, and now I had the chance to drive it on a proper rally event. The 300 SL is an incredible piece of engineering, designed in the 1950s for racing, but also featuring some impressive features that make it a joy to drive today. With its sleek design and powerful engine, it's no wonder this car has become an iconic symbol of automotive excellence.

We were driving through the rolling hills and scenic roads of Tuscany, and I was struck by how small this car is, especially when compared to modern vehicles. However, that's exactly what makes it so charming – its compact size allows for easy maneuverability, making it a joy to drive on narrow roads. As we navigated through the winding roads, I couldn't help but think about the safety features that would be absent in this car today. The lack of advanced safety technologies and electronic stability control made driving this car require a different set of skills, but also added an element of challenge and excitement.

As we stopped for a break at Mercedes-Benz Classic, I had the chance to take a closer look at the car's design. It was truly remarkable to see how compact it is, with only one wing mirror and a rearview mirror that seems almost miniature in comparison to modern vehicles. The fact that this car was designed as a racing vehicle back in the 1950s is clear – its shape and proportions are perfectly suited for speed and agility.

Back on the road, we set off once again, determined to make the most of our time with this incredible car. With a fuel tank holding only 130 liters of fuel, we had to be mindful of our driving style to avoid running out of gas during the long rally event. However, this added an element of excitement and challenge – we couldn't afford to waste any fuel, so we had to drive smoothly and efficiently.

As I continued to drive this car, I was struck by its sheer power and agility. Despite being designed for racing over 70 years ago, it still feels remarkably sporty today. The engine is smooth and responsive, making it a joy to accelerate and brake. I couldn't help but think about how well this car would perform on the rally stages – with its powerful engine and agile handling, I had no doubt that we would be able to make some impressive times.

As we approached the end of our drive, I felt a sense of sadness wash over me. This had been an incredible experience, and I knew that I would miss driving this car just as much as I would miss the thrill of racing through the Italian countryside. But I also knew that this was only the beginning – in just a few weeks' time, we would be back on the road again, competing in the Mille Miglia with our trusty AMG GT R by our side.

The experience of driving the 300 SL had been truly unforgettable, and I couldn't wait to share it with my audience. In the coming days and weeks, I would be sharing more stories and insights into this incredible car, as well as the events leading up to the Mille Miglia. But for now, I was content to simply bask in the glory of driving such an iconic vehicle on one of the most thrilling automotive experiences in the world.

As we came to the end of our drive, I turned off the engine and sat back, savoring the moment. This had been a truly special experience, one that I would never forget. The 300 SL was more than just a car – it was an icon, a symbol of automotive excellence, and a reminder of the power and beauty of engineering at its finest.

I looked over at my co-pilot and smiled – we had only just begun our journey, and I couldn't wait to see what lay ahead. The Mille Miglia was still weeks away, but I knew that this experience would stay with me forever, a reminder of the thrill of driving one of the most iconic cars in history through some of the most breathtaking landscapes on earth.

And so, as we left Mercedes-Benz Classic behind and headed off into the sunset, I couldn't help but feel grateful for this incredible opportunity. The 300 SL had given me an experience that I would never forget – a taste of what it's like to drive one of the most iconic cars in history through some of the most beautiful landscapes on earth. And as we disappeared into the distance, I knew that this was just the beginning of a truly unforgettable journey.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi guys I'm Shmi hello to you and welcome back to the channel welcome today though to mercedes-benz classic where we are going to be meeting my 300sl Gullwing that I'm going to be driving on this year's Mill Amelia so thanks to Mercedes Benz classic I am joining their team for one of the best events that happens anywhere in the world I'm going to be driving a Gullwing at iconic 300 SL a thousand miles from pressure to Roman back now today we're gonna go meet the car for the first time then get to know it with the first drive out on the roads excited is an understatement Mille Miglia is incredible but let's go check out the 300sl before we get through to the workshop to take a look at the car that I'm going to be driving just feast your eyes around the showroom here there are a number of beautiful 300sl roadster 's the roadster came after the gull wing the gull wings are the only ones that are eligible for millimeter but these things are just so so pretty a couple of them here different colors particularly like that car at the end and some other models as well or part of their showroom they do restoration work here servicing for customer cars but let's skip straight through I had to see some of the lineup for this year's Mille this is very much an active workshop getting the cars ready to take part in the event next month Millie cars can be from 1927 to 57 the period the original event was run and mercedes-benz classic bring 12 of their own so we have a few cars here from different eras actually that's a 1928 SSK that would be a slightly more hardcore experience I think and then going through to a 190 SL based race car this is completely straight through from the very end maybe 1955 or so there's also a 220 a but let's head outside and check out the 300 SL the car is lurking right outside here the 300 SL let's go and take a look at this in all of its glory what a car small little lineup of 300 SL s right here but this is the one this is my 300 SL for the Mille Miglia and I call it my 300 SL because I'm gonna be driving over a thousand miles in this car I don't think many owners of 300s else would ever cover that how special is this opportunity just look at it the iconic 300sl what a beautiful car this is a 1955 one one of the earliest they were built from 1955 to 57 having been introduced in 1954 at the New York Auto Show that was quite unusual back at the time this particular car this one has done 30 millimeters its first one was in 1988 which was the first mil Amelia after I was born so it has done every single Milly since I've been on this planet which is quite exciting I'll be taking it on its 31st mil Amelia in 2018 it's a 3 litre inline-six about 215 horsepower but of course period drum brakes this car is very much one that's been driven it's being used but let's just open up these iconic doors up they go just have a look at this how cool is this thing it actually goes up to 240 kilometres an hour when you're driving it and I can imagine it's gonna be something incredible to do so in full speed manual but a lot for me to learn about the period driving elements of the car we've had a quick run-through of it already and it's gonna be time to go for my first drive in it but it is just a work of art a thing of beauty in 1955 a special year that's the year that Sir Stirling Moss did his record time averaging over 100 miles an hour going from Brescia to Roman back 10 hours 7 minutes and 48 seconds we're not gonna be doing that on the tribute rally we drive this over for days but this thing it's just such an icon to climb in it's not necessarily the most elegant process in the world you kind of put your feet down there sit on the side sill and then swing yourself in for the final stretch you can fold the wheel forwards actually but I don't necessarily think that I'm going to need to do this there we go into place as the lever here which will just tilt it forwards but this is beautiful as well the dashboard dials 67,000 kilometres that this car has driven it has the setup because Mille Miglia is about regulation timing so you have to complete certain sections in a very specific amount of time we've got our four-speed manual and I've been learning the bits bobs and what different things do and how to start it and how to start the fuel pump on which buttons are the lights and that kind of thing not necessarily obvious this is actually lights what else do we have there's also a passenger horn that side if the ignition was on would be a horn button as well as in the center of the steering wheel handbrake down here there's quite a lot of space this car has been updated it's got some seatbelts in it as well fire extinguisher naturally but it's a car that has been driven and used it revs up to about 6,000 rpm let's just open up the engine bay see if I can step out with the camera running here not the easiest thing in the world to do up onto the side sill yeah that's gonna take some learning and then the bonnet has a latch somewhere in here let's see if I can find it with the camera running out there we go so the 3-liter hence the name inline six SL stands for sport light sport light fairly obviously signifying what the intent of this is 215 horsepower 274 Newton meters of torque in its day this was an incredibly fast powerful and capable car it's just gonna be so awesome anyway let's close this down I need to go out for a little Drive to learn the thing and then switch the cameras on and tell you what it's like I've had a bit of an introduction to the car there is a lot that is very different from the more modern things I'm used to driving but let's jump in now go for the first drive with the camera rolling and believe me when I tell you now it is incredible so you can see my attempt at a dignified entrance this time from the outside while not actually holding the camera but basically you kind of just stick your legs in and swing yourself in like so it's not too bad so then when you're stuck sitting in the car take one of these keys he goes in the middle here basically ignition on then you get the fuel pump running for five seconds and then you head around the back welcome jump it see if you can do this holding the camera perfect so here we are we do have three point seat belts but this is an interesting kind of topic on its own because you have head restraints however basically one goes into gear handbrake is on the left side and as simple as that away we go we'll head off down this lovely countryside road that is around us let's go and basically get a feel for what the Milly is going to be like the way we go and imagine kula but the car is actually surprisingly easy to drive obviously the steering wheel is huge but it's not uncomfortable it's very gentle which kind of surprises me for a car that is well-worn 30 years that's absolutely ridiculous this car is double my age so we've got a four-speed manual but it drives very normally kind of like a modern car but one thing you have to be really aware of driving and a 300 SL is the rear swaggin axle so basically what that means is if you go firm on the brakes the rear completely picks up goes very very loose and could in theory just spin around so especially if you're driving at speed like the media or in bad weather conditions you run a big risk of the rear swinging around the reason for that it was actually done for comfort even though as a sports car it was done to make it all genital on the road which doesn't necessarily make sense like this this all makes sense if we drop it down at the second gear here the idea what he was looking at real experience I mean the whole concentration mode for this road is stunning they're breaking for the corners off the brakes which turning it in it's heavy it's gonna be a lot of work we're here writers press my foot down fairly from drop rates you feel the back of a car picking up and that's what I have to watch out for I'm going to be doing a thousand-mile she's gonna be saying I mean it's already to say this is pitch I am driving a Mercedes 300sl what are my dream cars what my favorite classic car that exists in the world and this is it I think potentially one thing I would have to learn the most is actually driving it really slow speeds if there's big super gentle with the pull away getting used to the clutch it's very very small on the road it doesn't feel like that a stressful experience but it is definitely gonna be a very tiring experience to come back out of a little village but the were down 200 something right now you swam in 64 something driving it home goodness me incredible it's inner wall even this baby would be something I'm never gonna forget driving this on the village Olivia oh my gosh I cannot wait this is glorious absolutely glorious what a day driving a 300 SL on a proper countryside road heavenly we're heading back towards Mercedes passing Mille Miglia this year it goes always from pressure down to Roma and back up again it starts a pressure then we go to cheerio then we have a very long day down towards Rome then we go from Rome back up by a Parma to finally finishing in Brescia when you see basically the whole of Italy millions of people turn out and we're going to be driving in this car but also the AMG GT R is going to be joining as the kind of media support car behind us so this is going to be I guess the Walden Mercedes Mercedes AMG most iconic cars ever in the it's the 300sl so I've always wanted to drive the mill appear properly really trying to take this as a challenge as a competition enter it try and score the most points that we can I mean what is this this is basically I think it may not make sense on the camera but one of the most exciting things I have ever done driving a car as special as this on an event like Bolivia there will be about 3035 300 ourselves a leader from the same is classic themselves but this is just going to be incredible so I hope you guys get into it a journey I am very much looking for it's getting to really know what this car is like this stuff for like the minute let's get back to words and say these bands passing get the first experience in Viscardi this is like one and a half billion won or 3/4 million euro corazon just think about that now this is a cool beer we just outside she dug up and it feels like we're already in Tuscany or something down a bit doing small roads will be driving on the Facebook my hope is as good as it is the cars very small is only one wing mirror not a dorm there are house on the wings and the rearview mirror is melted down here necessarily it's quite easy to position the car because obviously back then they didn't have quite as much safety and security and technology as cars do now so it's just so small on the road okay then here we are back at mercedes-benz classic we can I don't gotta wrap up its a cool location what's an experience this has been just driving this car what an absolutely wonderful afternoon so this has been in the plans for quite a while you might actually remember when I visited the mercedes-benz museum back in December when I drove down with my AMG GTR we were walking around having a look at the time I was taking a look at the 300sl thinking what would that be like and then we got talking and then here we are driving this car on the Mille Miglia I honestly I just cannot wait for this it's gonna be the most incredible thing like yeah you get the point you get the point completely it is such a special car what I have always loved I think pretty much at any time in the past if people have said to me would I ever buy a classic car I've often said if the numbers came up one of these would be right there 300sl Gullwing or roadster who knows but for this gullwing is definitely the most I suppose appropriate one of the random thing about the car by the way it has a 130 litre fuel tank so we don't have to fill up too much well it depends how we drive I suppose it's just this shape I mean it was built as a racing car on the 50s right so even with the drum pad that drum dis sorry the drum brakes and the pads that this car has it's still quite sporty it might not be up to modern standards but yeah 300 SL so it is a huge thanks to these guys say these bends classic not only for the opportunity to drive it today which is already been quite something but to be driving this car on at the rally a thousand miles from pressure to Roman back in a couple of weeks time I honestly can't wait to share this journey with you and to explain a little bit more about how the regulation stages work the timing and to see how well we do in the competition element of it as well but there we go my first drive in the 300 SL the car that I'm going to be driving an awful lot more this is gonna be so good thank you very much as always for watching guys I can't wait to get to Italy and be back with this car for the Mille Miglia in a thanks again and I'll see you very soon Cheers youhi guys I'm Shmi hello to you and welcome back to the channel welcome today though to mercedes-benz classic where we are going to be meeting my 300sl Gullwing that I'm going to be driving on this year's Mill Amelia so thanks to Mercedes Benz classic I am joining their team for one of the best events that happens anywhere in the world I'm going to be driving a Gullwing at iconic 300 SL a thousand miles from pressure to Roman back now today we're gonna go meet the car for the first time then get to know it with the first drive out on the roads excited is an understatement Mille Miglia is incredible but let's go check out the 300sl before we get through to the workshop to take a look at the car that I'm going to be driving just feast your eyes around the showroom here there are a number of beautiful 300sl roadster 's the roadster came after the gull wing the gull wings are the only ones that are eligible for millimeter but these things are just so so pretty a couple of them here different colors particularly like that car at the end and some other models as well or part of their showroom they do restoration work here servicing for customer cars but let's skip straight through I had to see some of the lineup for this year's Mille this is very much an active workshop getting the cars ready to take part in the event next month Millie cars can be from 1927 to 57 the period the original event was run and mercedes-benz classic bring 12 of their own so we have a few cars here from different eras actually that's a 1928 SSK that would be a slightly more hardcore experience I think and then going through to a 190 SL based race car this is completely straight through from the very end maybe 1955 or so there's also a 220 a but let's head outside and check out the 300 SL the car is lurking right outside here the 300 SL let's go and take a look at this in all of its glory what a car small little lineup of 300 SL s right here but this is the one this is my 300 SL for the Mille Miglia and I call it my 300 SL because I'm gonna be driving over a thousand miles in this car I don't think many owners of 300s else would ever cover that how special is this opportunity just look at it the iconic 300sl what a beautiful car this is a 1955 one one of the earliest they were built from 1955 to 57 having been introduced in 1954 at the New York Auto Show that was quite unusual back at the time this particular car this one has done 30 millimeters its first one was in 1988 which was the first mil Amelia after I was born so it has done every single Milly since I've been on this planet which is quite exciting I'll be taking it on its 31st mil Amelia in 2018 it's a 3 litre inline-six about 215 horsepower but of course period drum brakes this car is very much one that's been driven it's being used but let's just open up these iconic doors up they go just have a look at this how cool is this thing it actually goes up to 240 kilometres an hour when you're driving it and I can imagine it's gonna be something incredible to do so in full speed manual but a lot for me to learn about the period driving elements of the car we've had a quick run-through of it already and it's gonna be time to go for my first drive in it but it is just a work of art a thing of beauty in 1955 a special year that's the year that Sir Stirling Moss did his record time averaging over 100 miles an hour going from Brescia to Roman back 10 hours 7 minutes and 48 seconds we're not gonna be doing that on the tribute rally we drive this over for days but this thing it's just such an icon to climb in it's not necessarily the most elegant process in the world you kind of put your feet down there sit on the side sill and then swing yourself in for the final stretch you can fold the wheel forwards actually but I don't necessarily think that I'm going to need to do this there we go into place as the lever here which will just tilt it forwards but this is beautiful as well the dashboard dials 67,000 kilometres that this car has driven it has the setup because Mille Miglia is about regulation timing so you have to complete certain sections in a very specific amount of time we've got our four-speed manual and I've been learning the bits bobs and what different things do and how to start it and how to start the fuel pump on which buttons are the lights and that kind of thing not necessarily obvious this is actually lights what else do we have there's also a passenger horn that side if the ignition was on would be a horn button as well as in the center of the steering wheel handbrake down here there's quite a lot of space this car has been updated it's got some seatbelts in it as well fire extinguisher naturally but it's a car that has been driven and used it revs up to about 6,000 rpm let's just open up the engine bay see if I can step out with the camera running here not the easiest thing in the world to do up onto the side sill yeah that's gonna take some learning and then the bonnet has a latch somewhere in here let's see if I can find it with the camera running out there we go so the 3-liter hence the name inline six SL stands for sport light sport light fairly obviously signifying what the intent of this is 215 horsepower 274 Newton meters of torque in its day this was an incredibly fast powerful and capable car it's just gonna be so awesome anyway let's close this down I need to go out for a little Drive to learn the thing and then switch the cameras on and tell you what it's like I've had a bit of an introduction to the car there is a lot that is very different from the more modern things I'm used to driving but let's jump in now go for the first drive with the camera rolling and believe me when I tell you now it is incredible so you can see my attempt at a dignified entrance this time from the outside while not actually holding the camera but basically you kind of just stick your legs in and swing yourself in like so it's not too bad so then when you're stuck sitting in the car take one of these keys he goes in the middle here basically ignition on then you get the fuel pump running for five seconds and then you head around the back welcome jump it see if you can do this holding the camera perfect so here we are we do have three point seat belts but this is an interesting kind of topic on its own because you have head restraints however basically one goes into gear handbrake is on the left side and as simple as that away we go we'll head off down this lovely countryside road that is around us let's go and basically get a feel for what the Milly is going to be like the way we go and imagine kula but the car is actually surprisingly easy to drive obviously the steering wheel is huge but it's not uncomfortable it's very gentle which kind of surprises me for a car that is well-worn 30 years that's absolutely ridiculous this car is double my age so we've got a four-speed manual but it drives very normally kind of like a modern car but one thing you have to be really aware of driving and a 300 SL is the rear swaggin axle so basically what that means is if you go firm on the brakes the rear completely picks up goes very very loose and could in theory just spin around so especially if you're driving at speed like the media or in bad weather conditions you run a big risk of the rear swinging around the reason for that it was actually done for comfort even though as a sports car it was done to make it all genital on the road which doesn't necessarily make sense like this this all makes sense if we drop it down at the second gear here the idea what he was looking at real experience I mean the whole concentration mode for this road is stunning they're breaking for the corners off the brakes which turning it in it's heavy it's gonna be a lot of work we're here writers press my foot down fairly from drop rates you feel the back of a car picking up and that's what I have to watch out for I'm going to be doing a thousand-mile she's gonna be saying I mean it's already to say this is pitch I am driving a Mercedes 300sl what are my dream cars what my favorite classic car that exists in the world and this is it I think potentially one thing I would have to learn the most is actually driving it really slow speeds if there's big super gentle with the pull away getting used to the clutch it's very very small on the road it doesn't feel like that a stressful experience but it is definitely gonna be a very tiring experience to come back out of a little village but the were down 200 something right now you swam in 64 something driving it home goodness me incredible it's inner wall even this baby would be something I'm never gonna forget driving this on the village Olivia oh my gosh I cannot wait this is glorious absolutely glorious what a day driving a 300 SL on a proper countryside road heavenly we're heading back towards Mercedes passing Mille Miglia this year it goes always from pressure down to Roma and back up again it starts a pressure then we go to cheerio then we have a very long day down towards Rome then we go from Rome back up by a Parma to finally finishing in Brescia when you see basically the whole of Italy millions of people turn out and we're going to be driving in this car but also the AMG GT R is going to be joining as the kind of media support car behind us so this is going to be I guess the Walden Mercedes Mercedes AMG most iconic cars ever in the it's the 300sl so I've always wanted to drive the mill appear properly really trying to take this as a challenge as a competition enter it try and score the most points that we can I mean what is this this is basically I think it may not make sense on the camera but one of the most exciting things I have ever done driving a car as special as this on an event like Bolivia there will be about 3035 300 ourselves a leader from the same is classic themselves but this is just going to be incredible so I hope you guys get into it a journey I am very much looking for it's getting to really know what this car is like this stuff for like the minute let's get back to words and say these bands passing get the first experience in Viscardi this is like one and a half billion won or 3/4 million euro corazon just think about that now this is a cool beer we just outside she dug up and it feels like we're already in Tuscany or something down a bit doing small roads will be driving on the Facebook my hope is as good as it is the cars very small is only one wing mirror not a dorm there are house on the wings and the rearview mirror is melted down here necessarily it's quite easy to position the car because obviously back then they didn't have quite as much safety and security and technology as cars do now so it's just so small on the road okay then here we are back at mercedes-benz classic we can I don't gotta wrap up its a cool location what's an experience this has been just driving this car what an absolutely wonderful afternoon so this has been in the plans for quite a while you might actually remember when I visited the mercedes-benz museum back in December when I drove down with my AMG GTR we were walking around having a look at the time I was taking a look at the 300sl thinking what would that be like and then we got talking and then here we are driving this car on the Mille Miglia I honestly I just cannot wait for this it's gonna be the most incredible thing like yeah you get the point you get the point completely it is such a special car what I have always loved I think pretty much at any time in the past if people have said to me would I ever buy a classic car I've often said if the numbers came up one of these would be right there 300sl Gullwing or roadster who knows but for this gullwing is definitely the most I suppose appropriate one of the random thing about the car by the way it has a 130 litre fuel tank so we don't have to fill up too much well it depends how we drive I suppose it's just this shape I mean it was built as a racing car on the 50s right so even with the drum pad that drum dis sorry the drum brakes and the pads that this car has it's still quite sporty it might not be up to modern standards but yeah 300 SL so it is a huge thanks to these guys say these bends classic not only for the opportunity to drive it today which is already been quite something but to be driving this car on at the rally a thousand miles from pressure to Roman back in a couple of weeks time I honestly can't wait to share this journey with you and to explain a little bit more about how the regulation stages work the timing and to see how well we do in the competition element of it as well but there we go my first drive in the 300 SL the car that I'm going to be driving an awful lot more this is gonna be so good thank you very much as always for watching guys I can't wait to get to Italy and be back with this car for the Mille Miglia in a thanks again and I'll see you very soon Cheers you\n"