The SL Shop Finding Stuttgart’s finest… in central England
The SL Shop is Europe’s leading SL specialist and, to be honest, it is also one of Britain’s top classic Mercedes specialists. Based near Redditch in the West Midlands it is an impressive operation encompassing both sales and servicing facilities along with a dedicated restoration workshop and parts supply operation. Boss man Sam Bailey started SL Shop with Bruce Greetham after a career in insurance: ‘I was surrounded by cars as a kid and began a small sales business more as a hobby than anything else.’ That business, Bailey Classic Cars, gave Sam the opportunity to enjoy numerous different classics, but he knew it had to change. ‘I realized I needed to specialise if it was going to work long-term, so I went back to my roots.’ Sam’s dad trained with Mercedes and Sam had always loved the R107 SL; if there was going to be a special focus, this was it.
The SL Shop was born in 2007 and has gone from strength to strength. ‘We have sold over 800 107s and the workshop has never been busier. We cater for a variety of Mercedes including the W113, R129 and even W124s, but still with the central focus being the 107.’ With a customer base of over 6000 the SL Shop only buys and sells the best cars, but it also services and restore cars too, along with carrying an extensive range of spares, some of which SL Shop has had remanufactured itself, this includes entire R107 bulkheads (see pic)! ‘I’m sure we can do just about anything but we are honest and realistic with people. We do everything from a wiper blade to a full restoration, we also do a few interesting mods, too.’ Sam takes us to meet the latest SL incarnation, the 300L Sportline.
It is an R107 on steroids with every upgrade you can fit without compromising the classic ‘feel’: five speed manual box, 255bhp, an 80mm lower ride height, a 0-60mph time of 5.9 seconds and uprated everything. This is the ultimate driver’s SL. You wonder what the SL Shop will think of next?