JOYRIDE: 1988 Mercedes-Benz 560 SL Lorinser

The last day of summer deserves a joyride………..

As the finale for the last official day of summer, let’s go for a joyride in the Mercedes-Benz 560 SL roadster. Mercedes-Benz had their act together with this series roadster and engine combination. It was as graceful as a gazelle; you never really wanted to park it. This was a really quick and fun car to drive. With all four wheels anchored close to the ends of the car made handling and overall performance outstanding. Even fuel economy had been greatly improved over the good old days with the extremely gas-thirsty 4.5 litre V8. Those of you who drove them know what I mean!

All North American Mercedes-Benz SL roadsters carried a V8 engine. The alloy 5.6 litre V8 with SOHC produced 227 hp @ 5,200 rpm with 389 Nm of torque @ 3,500 rpm. It was mated to a three-speed automatic transmission with silky-smooth shifting. This nimble roadster rode upon a front double wishbone suspension with coil springs, additional rubber springs and a stabilizer bar. A diagonal swing axle, coil springs, and a stabilizer bar were fitted to the rear. Four wheel disc brakes provide fade-free stopping in short distances. Its contemporary bodywork is sheet metal with unibody construction. The 560 SL came standard with both soft top and hardtop. This 560 SL has the aero-bodykit by Lorinser.

The 1988 SL roadster offered optional dual stage heated seats and eight-way power memory seats. Electrically powered orthopedic backrests were available for both driver and passenger. A driver’s side airbag and ABS brakes came standard. Manual seat adjustment was still standard. The MSRP for the 1988 Mercedes-Benz SL roadster was $61,130 USD. 

Every generation has enjoyed an SL from Mercedes-Benz. For more than half a century there has been five full-sized SL’s (the 190 SL of the late 1950s and early 1960s and two smaller SL’s including the SLK). The average SL stays in production for a full decade. An SL’s timeless design will never be out of style. They look as fresh and inviting today as they did the day they rolled off the assembly line in Germany.

This design is very popular with collectors. If you are considering the purchase for investment purposes, please do your homework. Time hasn’t been kind to some examples out there and the cost of restoration is frightfully expensive. The Mercedes-Benz 560 SL was the quickest out of all the SL’s of its time. Now enjoy the gallery.

The hardtop made the 560 SL roadster weather-proof

Enjoy the ride today, winter is coming and it will be time to put this away shortly.