What makes an icon? Style? Power? Dynamics? Or simply a creation so fine, it’s beyond the old greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts logic. There are icons and then there are those who changed the direction for a generation. Some examples which just stood apart, were exquisite enough to be noticed without going all out to be noticeable. Style comes naturally, there is no need for power, because there is conviction so strong, it exudes an aura which remains unmatched. Every so often, one such icon comes along, way ahead of its time, and raises the benchmark. There is new hope, new things to learn and a new direction to chase glory.
Sixty years ago, in 1954, Mercedes launched a production version of their 1952 300SLR race-car, christened the 300SL; ‘SL’ meaning Sport Leicht (Sport Light in English). Codenamed the W198, it was launched as a two-door sportscar, with unique gull-wing doors. It was the first production passenger car to offer fuel injection. The engine, a 3.0-litre straight-six, made around 220 PS and had a four-speed manual transmission driving the rear wheels. It also had the world’s highest top speed at the time – 235 to 265 km/h, depending on gearing. Acceleration to 100 km/h was a brisk 8.5 seconds too. It was also one of the most expensive cars of the time. There were 1,400 coupé cars produced before the company began producing the convertible model with more conventional doors and a drop-top.
That’s beside the point. Some things are pure numbers and, in the end, it’s all relative. A life can span a few years, or a century, but what really matters is how that one life affected so many others. Affected in positive ways, bringing about change – change in mindsets, thought processes, priorities – and evoking ideas, encouraging thinking out of the box, being more creative and bringing the understanding that there is freedom without boundaries for those who dare to dream, inspires them enough to take a bold step and turn their dreams into a reality. A reality which one day culminates into a new creation that takes the whole game forward, carries the torch, so to speak. To make a difference. To mean the world to someone. That, we believe, is the most important aspect of any creation, human or machine.
Story: Jim Gorde
