Here's Wishing the Mercedes-Benz 190SL a Happy 60th Anniversary

It's always a sort of an occasion when we celebrate our birthdays. We get a year older and probably wiser but that always warrants ringing in a new year on a celebratory note. But when cars celebrate theirs they're pretty much the same which is why we call them timeless beauties and the 190 SL two-seater convertible is one of the many.

Mercedes-Benz is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the 190 SL two-seater convertible. The car was first previewed by a concept at the International Motor Sports Show in New York in February 1954 and we saw the production model appearing for the first time in March 1955 at the 25th International Motor Show in Geneva.

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The 190 SL was quintessentially the poor man's 300 SL. It shared the basic styling, engineering, detailing, and fully independent suspension of the 300 SL but did not use the 300SL's purpose-built W198 tubular spaceframe. Instead, it was built on a shortened monocoque R121 platform modified from the W121 small saloon.

The car was powered by a newly developed 1.9-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with an overhead camshaft. There was 105bhp on offer and the open-top two-seater set new standards for comfortable travel with a sporty note by delivering a refreshingly new take on the Gran Turismo idea.

25881 cars were built in the course of a journey that lasted close to a decade. Here's wishing the 190 SL a very happy anniversary.