Mercedes-Benz SL500 R129

The story

The R129 replaced the long-running R107 in 1989, and it arrived as a showcase of what Mercedes-Benz could do when it treated safety as seriously as speed. A roll bar hid behind the seats and sprang up in a fraction of a second if sensors detected a rollover, the belts were built into the seat frames, and the soft top stowed itself on hydraulics. The 500 SL, later renamed SL500, used a 5.0-liter V8 of about 315 hp, good for roughly 6.3 seconds to 60 mph and a limited 155 mph. In 1991 Princess Diana swapped a Jaguar for a red one, and the outcry in Britain sent it back to Germany within a year.

At about 1,890 kg (4,165 lb), it never pretends to be nimble. The recirculating-ball steering filters more than it tells, and on a tight, wet lane the car feels large. Give it an open highway, though, and it settles into a calm that few open cars of any era can match. Age brings costs, chiefly crumbling wiring insulation on mid-1990s cars and leaking top hydraulics. For years it was simply too common to feel special. Clean examples are now being bought as classics.