Bosch Hydraulic Valves

Mercedes-Benz SL, R 107 series » Mercedes-Benz, S-Class ...

At issue was whether there should be a Targa roof version, i. e. , one with a removable roof panel, instead of the fabric-topped variant, because owing to higher safety standards alarming news was to be heard from the USA regarding the licensing... That a decision was finally made in favour of an open-top two-seater with a fabric roof and an additional removable hard top can be attributed to Hans Scherenberg, the head of Development, who fought tooth and nail for it: “The SL gave me great... The decision to manufacture the R 107 series (for the first time an SL series received the internal designation “R” as in Roadster instead of “W” as in Wagen = car) was taken by the Board of Management after intensive debates on 18 June 1968. But it was not the safety aspects that motivated customers around the world to quickly reach for the new SL. It was the promise of an open-top automobile that was a successful piece of engineering all round – and it was in fact the only one of its... This resulted in a remarkable power of resistance in the roof-drop test with the result that it was possible to license the open-top car for the USA even without a Targa bar. Safety as agenda Béla Barényi’s safety concept with front and rear crumple zones and a rigid passenger cell found expression in the 107 series in a further developed form. Discussion centred around whether one should additionally, and soon, make a four-seater sports coupé based on the R 107 series, or wait for the coming S-Class (W 116) to build it on that basis. And so just six months after its première the SL was followed in October 1971 by a comfortable four-seater sports coupé, the 350 SLC, whose unconventional lines also found it many friends around the world in the course of the years. Karl Wilfert, then Head of Body Design in Sindelfingen, developed – pretty much on his own authority – a coupé based on the R 107 and presented it one day to the Board of Management as a “rough draft”. The SL definitely had to be an open-top car, and that being the case the only protection in a possible roll-over would be provided by the A-pillar plus windscreen. In the side prospect the length of the coupé is documented, firstly, by the 360-millimetre longer wheelbase (2820 millimetres versus 2460), secondly by the line of the side windows. As further safety feature the fuel tank was no longer installed in the rear end but above the rear axle, protected against collision. The backbone of the R 107 is not simply a shortened and reinforced Saloon floor assembly, as in the predecessor, but an independent frame-floor unit with a closed transmission tunnel and box-shaped cross and longitudinal members which featured... A flat roof spanned the four-seater passenger compartment in a gentle curve, going over into a large and very steep rear window that arched in two directions. The hard dashboard made way for an ingenious sheet-steel design that yielded on impact both in the top section and the knee area and was foam-padded. Internally the series was designated C 107 (the “C” stands for “coupé”). the lines of the low silhouette were harmonious – soft top open or closed, or with hardtop. The SLC’s drag coefficient was better than that of the SL so that the coupé attained the same performance despite an added weight of some 50 kilograms. A particularly noteworthy fact is that it fully lived up to its classification as a “Sports Coupé”, gaining wins for Mercedes-Benz in many rallies and long-distance races. Up to the windscreen its appearance matched that of the open-top variant. Rejected at first, Wilfert managed to push through his idea of a sports coupé with the tenacity which was so characteristic of him....