Mercedes 300SL Gullwing

The 1954-56 Mercedes SL Coupe was the first production automobile to utilize the Gullwing door design, now recognized most popularly with the DMC-12, Doc and Marty's time-travelling fly ride. The two-seater was also the first production car to successfully employ fuel injection.

Daimler took its styling cues for the SL from both the luxury tourers of the 1930s and the lightweight road racers that soared in popularity after the war. The result was a slick yet slippery coupe that helped cement Daimler's reputation as the world's biggest automotive exporter, a title they'd held since 1952, just seven years after the end of the war in Europe. This was a point in time when Germany's popularity was not exactly riding the high tide.

Daimler saved a few marks up front by adapting a 3.0-liter version of one of their war-era truck mill designs, and tweaking it for racier, less violent conditions. The 215-bhp (175 SAE net) propelled the road-spec version of Mercedes' Le Mans tourer to a top speed of 130 mph. Not especially impressive by today's standards, but not bad at all for the time—a rebodied version of the 300SL's drop-top cousin won Le Mans in 1954. With a curb weight of 2,823 pounds, riding on the Le Mans-derived suspension, the lightly-sprung, greasy quick touring coupe that could buzz the Autobahn, wind its way through Europe's tortuous, medieval roadways, and look damn good doing it.

The elongated snout and elaborate chrome grille mouldings hint at Mercedes' pre-war luxury land barges while fastback roof, low-slung greenhouse, and sloping bodylines clearly indicate the car's racy roots. The Gullwing doors are whimsical, almost superfluous—the roadster version of the FL, for obvious reasons, employed more traditional portals. But perch that coupe on some high place, with both doors popped out and the sun crawling down the horizon, and tell me that the 300SL doesn't ready to catch some wind, catch fire, and disappear.