The Crown Jewel among all Sports Cars.
Prototypes are the products of an intense automotive design process. They are ideas given physical form and meant to test the culmination of those ideas. Most serve their purpose and end as scrap or become forgotten embodiments of a larger production that ends up relegated to a warehouse collecting dust rarely, if ever, to be seen again. Occasionally one is found on flaccid tires, fading away in a dusty, shuttered garage, whereupon aficionados immediately elevate it from “ancient junk” to “treasured artifact.”
Usually what is uncovered are the skeletal remains of a failed project, a curiosity at best. Once in a great while though, an opening door reveals the unexpected, a true prototype, the first example of a genuine success story. If that is rare, then finding a car that has served as a factory prototype three times over is is beyond remarkable. One such car that has conformed itself to the highest ideals in a vast field of prototypes that have graced the pavement is the 1955 Mercedes Benz 300SLS, a car first chronicled by famed photojournalist David Douglas Duncan for Colliers Magazine.
David Douglas Duncan is an American photojournalist and among the most influential photographers of the 20th century. He is considered to be one of the fathers of modern photojournalism and best for his photos and chronicle of war. He was a photographer for Life Magazine during World War II, Korea and Vietnam and developed, along with Leica, what was to become the modern SLR camera that all subsequent journalists/photographers used for the next 50 years
In 1956, Mercedes wanted to promote their new 300SL Roadster and so offered Duncan a new Mercedes Gullwing if he would take photos and write a story for either Colliers or Life Magazine.
Duncan was an intimate friend of Pablo Picasso and went on to write several books about the artist and his work. One such book, titled “Picasso’s Picassos” detailed the works of Pablo Picasso that had rarely been seen outside family and friends. In this book, Duncan chronicled these rarely seen works of Picasso’s that Picasso himself found to be his most important and best artistic renditions.
In 1956, Mercedes wanted to promote their new 300SL Roadster and so offered David Douglas Duncan a new Mercedes Gullwing if he would take photos and write a story for either Colliers or Life Magazine. Duncan agreed, picked up his Gullwing the same time as the shoot, and produced the article titled “The Secret SLS” for Collier’s Magazine. Duncan kept this Gullwing gift from Mercedes Benz up until about 10 years ago when he passed it on to Claude Picasso, son of Pablo.
In his article, Duncan detailed his visit to Germany and Switzerland, where he photographed the new sportscar being tested by designer Karl Wilfert. “Though much technical data is still cloaked in secrecy, factory officials have released enough details with these exclusive Collier’s photos to give a clear idea of what that streaking shape actually is when standing still…a giant two seater convertible roadster combining features of Mercedes’ revolutionary gullwing-doored 300SL coupe and the steamlined racer which Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina beat the world on the Grand Prix circuit, the world series of professional racing. The SLS (Super Light Special) clears the ground by a hand and stands but 33 inches high at the door cowling. Designed by racing experts for sportsmen whom the final product is the only consideration, the 300SLS is unlikely to become the second car in every man’s garage. It is meant to be the crown jewel among all sports cars.”
While doing research on the 1955 Mercedes 300SLS Protoype Roadster at the UCLA graduate research library, I came across an article titled “The Secret SLS” in Colliers Magazine by David Douglas Duncan. I proceeded to contact David in 1988 and after correspondence he was kind enough to send me the photos you see contained within this article for Classic Driver.
