The 300SL stands for Super Light, Not Sport Light. -Phil philf@xxxx ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ann & Ed Thompson" <RappaRivaRat@xxxx> To: <dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, October 29, 1999 8:53 AM Subject: [DML] Re: The DeLorean's Gullwing doors > > As many of you know, the DeLorean wasn't the only car to have gullwing doors. > > I have seen a lot of e-mails saying it was, but it wasn't. > > Who are these people John? I would like to help set them straight. > > > Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing also has gullwing doors, as specified in the > > name. There is a 1956, 1957 and I think more > > The original Mercedes gullwing coupe (introduced March 1952) was not designated > "300SL Gullwing". It was simply the "Mercedes-Benz 300SL Coupe" the "SL" meaning > Sport-Light. Of course it did have gullwing doors and was to become affectionately > know as "The Gullwing Coupe" by automobile enthusiasts. Later the Mercedes C111 > with gullwing doors was developed primarily for speed and endurance trials. > > In the early seventies, under the watchful eye of JZD (as General Manager at > Chevrolet), the Corvette group designed and built a gullwing Corvette coupe that was > supposed to be powered by the 4-rotor Wankle. It never made it into production but > was no doubt the single most influential project that led JZD to incorporating > gullwing doors into the design of the DMC-12. The Corvette doors were remarkably > similar to those on the DMC-12, except the lower half of the door had a second hinge. > (BTW, JZD unsuccessfully tried to buy the Wankle from GM for the DMC-12.) > > Later the Bricklin SV-1 gullwing coupe was introduced. The Bricklin went into > production in 1974, the same year JZD formed the De Lorean Motor Company. > > Incidentally, the fact that the DMC-12 design was remarkably similar to the Lotus > Esprit was no accident. Lotus had no small part in bringing the DMC-12 to fruition, > but the Esprit did not have gullwing doors. > > Regards, > Ed Thompson (#6419 since 1982) > Midlothian, VA > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Before posting messages or replies, see the posting policy rules at: > www.dmcnews.com/Admin/rules.html > > To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: > moderator@xxxx > >