How difficult could it be, Larry Pappo wondered, to pay

Re-creating
The
190SL
Exhibition Car
H
erb Shriner was a 1950s TV personality and wellknown “Car Guy” in a day and age when that
term had yet to be coined. Each year he promoted the International Motor Sports Auto Show in New
York as a way of expanding the exposure of foreign
sports cars while simultaneously enjoying his passion.
His third annual event, held February 6-14, 1954, is,
without a doubt, the most famous of his shows.
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THE STAR®
November-December 2010
It was at this show that Max Hoffman and the Daimler-Benz Corporation displayed a revolutionary pair of
new sports cars – the 190SL and the street version of
the racing 300SL – that changed the landscape of sport
driving in America, and the rest of the world, forever.
The show’s long-lost exhibition version of the 190SL
has been re-created so that enthusiasts can understand
how it captured the imagination of the audience.
ARTICLE BY JIM LUIKENS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANK PIERCE
A SOUTHERN STUDIO
PRIDE
Above: The re-creation of the 190SL exhibition car built by Bruce
Adams for Dr. Larry Pappo and unveiled in September. Unlike
the original, the car is totally operational but was built with the
racing windshield and cut-down doors that were an alternative
configuration for the exhibition car. Right: An official
photograph of the Mercedes-Benz stand at Herb Shriner’s
Third Annual International Motor Sports Show in New York City
in 1954. Note that the 190SL exhibition car, sitting beside
the 300SL that was the centerpiece of the stand, was configured
with standard windshield and doors by the time the photograph was taken.
THE STAR®
November-December 2010
33
Above and inset: Two of the original publicity
photograhs that were used to replicate the details
of the exhibition car. Left and left below: The
detail of the re-creation is stunning. Note the fuel
filler cap on the right rear fender, the taillights
and reflectors, and the chrome wheel covers.
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November-December 2010
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Right from top: A comparison of photographs
of the original car and the re-creation shows
the variety of interesting and unusual details
of the exhibition car, including hood scoop
and rectangular parking lights. The brochure
from the New York show displayed the regular
windscreen and wind-up side windows.
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November-December 2010
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Left: The engine presented its own challenges,
since the show engine was nonoperational,
but the re-creation had to be a real engine,
though duplicating all the visual details of the
exhibition car. Right: Similarly, gauges had to
work and duplicate the non-standard markings
that could be seen under magnification in the
original publicity shots. Another challenge was
to re-create the original interior, including the
unusual seats, which didn’t carry over into the
production car designed 15 months later. Note
that neither the original car in race trim, nor
the re-creation, has side windows. Even the
smallest details, such as the trunk button and
lock, reproduce the original car’s details but
are fully operational.
How difficult
could it be, Larry Pappo
wondered, to pay homage by re-creating
this long-lost piece of Mercedes-Benz history?
Eight years later, he knows the answer.
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November-December 2010
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