Over a Decade in the Making One can say that Mercedes-Benz really took its time in building up the fourth-generation SL. While its design was finalized in 1984, actual development work actually began as early as the mid-’70s. Its full development story deserves its own feature, and even then, an entire book would better explain everything in much more intricate detail. It was a car that featured many firsts and innovations, from its pop-up rollover bar to the very first SL of its kind to offer a V12 engine. In many ways, it was a car ahead of its time and built during a time when Mercedes’ slogan of ‘Engineered like no other car in the world’ wasn’t just a catchy hook, it was practically a guarantee. If you get to know what went into this model, you’ll understand why it took over a decade complete. The Backstory The fourth-generation Mercedes-Benz SL is internally known as the R129, replacing the R107 model that spanned from 1971 to 1989. As it succeeded a generation that ran for nearly 20 years, the R129 was a massive leap forward. It would also have a pretty lengthy production run of 12 years from 1988 to 2001, and it saw two major updates along the way. We found a second major facelift version of the SL recently on Bring a Trailer. It’s from 1998, meaning the first model year of the second update. It’s seen a few owners over the years, but it’s still has less than 100,000 miles on the clock in the near-30 years it’s been around. As it’s a ’98 SL500, it has the newer M113 5.0-liter V8 with three valves per cylinder and a twin-spark ignition system. As for values, Classic.com listed it at just under $21,000 The car has seen a good amount of service, but the seller admits there are a couple of things that need to be done to make it even better. The rear sway bar links and ball joints have been recommended for service, while the right-side wheel bearing needs replacement. The seller also noted a small oil leak, but nothing too major. It’s not perfect, but it should be a good starting point for those looking for an SL project. The Offer Specification Detail Make Mercedes-Benz Model SL500 (R129) Year 1998 Mileage 74,561 miles shown Engine 5.0-liter M113 V8 Power 302 horsepower Transmission Five-speed automatic Drive type Rear-wheel drive Exterior color Smoke Silver Metallic Interior color Parchment (tan) Wheels 16-inch 12-hole alloys Suspension MacPherson strut front, multi-link rear Brakes Four-wheel vented disc Steering Hydraulic rack and pinion Current bid $500 Why it’s Special We wouldn’t call the R129 rare, but it’s a special car nonetheless. It came from Mercedes’ cost-no-object development era wherein the engineers bode their time to make it close to perfect. One can also say that it was from the company’s peak era in terms of design. Whereas later SLs tended to have more polarizing stying, this generation was universally loved. There’s just something inherently pleasant about it, and we say it’s worth the time fixing up one of these.