Mercedes-Benz 190SL

This is certainly the longest break I’ve taken since the last post was published in early January this year. But as always, YOUR DREAM AUTO strives to bring you write-ups of rare cars in the flesh and keeping with that tradition, we have a 1961 Mercedes-Benz 190SL for you guys to digest today. 

This particular model was one of the early SLs beaten by only the 300SL by about a year or so. There are many out there who may get confused between the 300SL and the 190SL. The 190SL in simple words was actually the ‘poor man’s’ 300SL or maybe I should say ‘more affordable’ considering the price of the 190SL which was still expensive during those days and even now. There were about 25,000 units of the 190SLs built right from 1955 to 1963 and as expected based on it’s model designation, it came with a 1.9 litre, four-cylinder, single cam engine coupled with a four speed manual gearbox. They were all built as roadster models but there were some which came with a detachable hard-top.

This particular car today is a 1961 model of the 190SL. The owner has been patiently restoring it for the past three years of which most time was spent sourcing for certain parts in order to maintain it’s originality. As you can see from the pictures attached, this is one car which has certainly gone through a thorough restoration process with no expense spared right from the exterior, interior as well as it’s engine compartment and mechanicals. 

Like most classic Mercedes-Benz automobiles, the design and curves on them are certainly breathtaking. I too was mesmerised by it’s beauty in flesh. Just looking at those lines and feeling them gave me that nostalgic feeling of what these cars were and are till today. Well, do enjoy the pictures as well as the video of a similar car posted below. 

The video:

Ferrari F355 Spider

It’s been slightly more than a month now since the last write-up and it’s already the New Year. I would like to wish a Happy New Year 2016 to all YOUR DREAM AUTO followers and readers. One of the things that I hope to do is to have more articles this year compared to the last which was a year that was full of adventures and I must say it ended pretty well. To kick off this year, we have a reasonably rare Ferrari F355 Spider which has been gaining some momentum in it’s value and collectability recently. 

The Ferrari F355 was the predecessor to my favourite Ferrari of all time, the Ferrari 360. The Ferrari F355 was produced between 1994 and 1999 of which slightly more than 11,000 units were built. There were 3 different body styles available mainly the Berlinetta which was the hard top coupe, the targa top also known as the GTS and the Spider convertible. The particular model this write-up is about is the Spider Convertible where there were only less than 4,000 units built.

The F355 came with a 3.5 litre V8 engine. With the base of the engine derived from the earlier Ferrari 348, the F355 had a slight displacement increase and a new 5 valve per cylinder head. This car also came with high-end Connolly Leather for it’s interior (as you can see from the photos). As for the gearbox, there were 2 types available. Mostly were fitted with the 6 speed manual (this car has the 6 speed manual gearbox) and there were a few later models fitted with the F1 transmission which was also carried forward to the later Ferrari 360.

All in all, the F355 was a 90’s Ferrari which was curvy but still has it’s sharp ends which I love. Below are some shots of an F355 Spider that I came along sometime last year and I must say it was breathtaking. Though I must warn you, the F355 Spider like most Ferraris and super cars is certainly a tight squeeze to get into for ‘slightly’ larger people if you know what I mean. Well, sit back and enjoy the RED fiesta photos as well as a detailed video of a similar car attached below.

The video: