500 SLC R107

In the 1970s, Mercedes raced its SLC coupes in the World Rally Championship and made history as the only car ever to win a WRC rally with a V8 engine and automatic transmission. The SLC rally cars proved to be very strong and reliable, which was especially important for the extremely challenging gravel rallies, such as the Ivory Coast Rally and the Safari Rally across the African continent.

In 1978, during the grueling 39-day, 30,000-km Vuelta a La América del Sud, al 450 SLC's took the top five places in their debut event! For rallies on the European continent, the heavy SLC was not ideal for the narrow, winding roads. Legendary engineer Erich Waxenberger was called in to improve the SLC's performance in European rallies. For homologation reasons, Mercedes had to modify their production model, to comply with FIA regulations. From 1980, the 450 SLC 5.0 was discontinued and replaced by the new 500 SLC. The 500 SLC was built as a lightweight "homologation special," with a lighter aluminum M117 V8 engine producing 240 hp and a 4-speed automatic transmission, instead of a 3-speed. They came with an alloy hood, doors, and trunk lid and rode on larger alloy wheels with disc brakes and ABS on all four wheels. They were all left-hand drive and weighed less than 1,500 kg. Only 1,133 of these modified homologation specials were built and sold, primarily in Germany, at a price close to that of the Ferrari 308 GTB.