$19,750 – 22,500
Collector status: Buy and hold
The Mercedes-Benz SLC has always been a bit of an odd duck. It was designed to fill the spot being vacated by the W111 coupé, but rather than base it on the S-Class, as previous coupés had been it was a derivative of the R107 SL roadster. It was, and remains, the only time that Mercedes-Benz would not base its “personal luxury coupé” on its flagship sedan.
To the rear edge of its doors, it is identical to the SL but then gets stretched 14 inches to accommodate a “functional” rear seat. To eyes accustomed to the much more common roadster (over three times as many produced), the proportions seem off. But taken on its own, the design has some merit. Its more upright roofline, complemented by the lovely louvers between the C-pillar and rear quarter glass, are in keeping with the language of the late 60s and early 70s. When taken from certain angles, the width of the R107/C107 suits the larger appearance of the coupé.
Power comes from the same 4.5-liter V8 as in the roadster, rather unfortunately bogged down by US emissions to a sluggish 160 hp (down more than 50 from its RoW counterpart). This was the only motor offered in the SLC through Mercedes-Benz North America dealers. However a few gray-market examples of the much more impressive 237-hp 500 SLC (made between 1979 and 1981) turn up now and then on auction sites. With the 5.0-liter V8 under the bonnet, the SLC in fact enjoyed a brief but successful rallying stint. While it is a long way from the ancestry found in the legendary 300 SL, it demonstrated that the SLC can be capable of more sporting performance than its “personal luxury” denotes.
The idea of a four-seat hardtop 107 never really resonated with buyers, who didn’t seem to mind two-seats (or opted for the mostly unusable kinderseat) in favor of wind-in-the-hair motoring. Mercedes-Benz took note and with the 126-S-Class, returned to the big-bodied coupé that continued through to the C217 of the last generation. But that also means that they can be overlooked in the collector market as well. With their roadster counterparts regularly selling at over $25,000 and climbing (some low-mileage 560s approaching Pagoda money), the SLC lurks as a potential bargain.