It was 50 years ago that the first standard-production example of the Mercedes-Benz 190 SL roadster that was to prove historic in two different ways rolled off the production line in Stuttgart, Germany.

Despite initial misgivings, this little brother of the already legendary 300 SL "Gullwing" model rapidly became the dream car of the 1950s. And in addition it proved to be the ancestor of a new Mercedes roadster that would set hearts racing more than forty years later. In 1996 the now well-established SL-Class models witnessed the arrival of another little brother, the spellbinding SLK-Class.

This most worthy of successors to the 190 SL also achieved dream-car status – by virtue of its sporting prowess, breathtaking design and a fully retractable steel roof that perfectly fused the qualities and elegance of a coupé with the unrivalled feeling of freedom provided by an open-top sports car.

The sales figures speak for themselves. During its seven-year production run, the first-generation SLK-Class attracted 314,000 customers. Furthermore, worldwide sales of the new Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class, which went on sale in March 2004, have already reached the 72,000 mark – a staggering 21 percent more than in its predecessor's best year!

The Mercedes-Benz SL legend was born in New York where, at the International Motor Sports Show in February 1954, the Stuttgart manufacturer unveiled not one but two of the SL models that have long since become legendary - the 300 SL "Gullwing" Coupé and the open-top 190 SL.

Whereas the 300 SL captivated the public with its distinctive "gullwings" and the performance of a thoroughbred racing car, the 190 SL marked the start of the Mercedes-Benz Roadster tradition.

Initially unveiled in New York as an open-top sports car with a folding soft-top, the 190 SL enraptured the American people straight away, since it encapsulated exactly what they desired in a car - an elegant sports model from a highly renowned marque featuring a scintillating design and available at a reasonable price. In Europe, too, the industry was extremely excited about the debut of the little brother of the top-flight 300 SL. After all, the 190 SL bore a strong resemblance to the 300 SL and, therefore, benefited from the halo effect of the latter's racing heritage.

Yet the 190 SL did not set out to be a racing car, the product developers preferring instead to pitch it as a fast, elegant touring car with a high utility value.

It was in this guise that the 190 SL gained widespread public acceptance. When production of the Roadster finally started in mid-1955, the German journal "Motorrundschau" neatly summed up what many people thought about the190 SL, calling it "the dream for thousands for whom the 300 SL is out of reach".

Most striking of all was the visual appearance of the 190 SL. Indeed, the design is still considered one of the most successful in the entire history of the automobile, ranking alongside that of the 300 SL which is similar in terms of its basic proportions and many other details.

Drivers could look out over a long, low bonnet, while fully lowerable side windows ensured all-round visibility and provided unbridled open-air driving pleasure. The large instruments were positioned perfectly within the driver's field of vision, and the entire ambience conveyed a true sports car feeling.

The 190 SL was equally impressive on the move. In fact, the Mercedes Roadster was based on the 180 Saloon, although its front end looked like a slightly smaller version of the 300 SL. However, its mainstay was the extremely torsionally stiff floor assembly adopted from the Saloon rather than a sophisticated space frame.

The leading-edge single-joint swing axle with lowered pivot point was lifted from a racing car and provided outstanding road contact, thus optimising both roadholding and cornering ability. Other features adopted from the 180 models included the front suspension incorporating the front-axle carrier concept, which was one of the main reasons why the handling performance of the extremely sporty190 SL attracted such rave reviews.

Beneath the long bonnet was a newly developed 1.9-litre four-cylinder engine with an overhead camshaft and twin side-draught carburettors. From a compression ratio of 8.5:1, the powerplant developed an impressive 105 hp, enabling the two-seater to reach a top speed well in excess of 170 km/h and accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in around 14 seconds.

From launch, the 190 SL Roadster was available with a fabric soft-top or a removable hard-top, the latter coming either with or without the fabric top. A sports variant was also initially available featuring light-weight side doors with arm cutouts. In addition, the bumpers were omitted and a small Plexiglas racing windscreen fitted in place of the standard version.

The German national motorsports commission (ONS) refused to approve this sports variant, however, leading to its discontinuation in March 1956. Although this marked the end of a possible sports career for the 190 SL in Europe, the car achieved second place overall and a class win at the 1956 Grand Prix in Portuguese Macao before going on to secure another class win at the Hong Kong Rally in 1958. The 190 SL received further sporting accolades after it was equipped with a diesel engine in 1961, breaking numerous diesel records in the process.

Production of the Mercedes-Benz 190 SL continued until 1963. And the production figures show just how popular and successful the two-seater became: between May 1955 and February 1963, 25,881 models were produced at the Sindelfingen plant – many more than its developers had planne

Against this historical backdrop, it was only natural that, several decades later, thoughts would turn to introducing another little brother for the now firmly established SL-Class.

Mercedes-Benz had launched an unprecedented strategic product initiative in the mid-1990s, and a compact Roadster seemed like the perfect answer for giving the model range a decisive boost whilst also emphasising the sporting prowess at the heart of the Mercedes-Benz brand. This was how the new SLK-Class was born. In German, SLK stands for "sporty, light and compact".

Mercedes-Benz had, therefore, once again done the unexpected and proved that a small roadster, as well as providing the ultimate in driving pleasure, could be a serious contender in terms of quality and safety. A great deal of attention focused on the fully retractable steel vario roof which made the SLK a car for all seasons with no ifs or buts.

Other impressive qualities of the SLK included its exemplary safety. Two fixed roll-over bars behind the seats provided optimum protection and, in combination with the extremely robust A-pillars, ensured a high level of safety even when the roof was down.

Even the most strident Mercedes-Benz optimists couldn't have predicted just how popular the Roadster would become. Initially, a maximum production volume of around 35,000 units per year was planned. However, in 1997, over 55,000 SLK models rolled off the production line and, by then, almost a third of all new compact roadsters sold world-wide displayed the SLK badge. By the time production came to an end, a grand total of around 314,000 SLK models had been sold.

The second-generation SLK-Class, launched in spring 2004, builds on this success, displaying even greater sporting prowess and dynamism as well as offering even greater driving pleasure.

Around 72,000 models have been sold world-wide already, easily beating the figure achieved by the previous model series in its record-breaking year.

Thanks to powerful engines, a newly developed chassis, direct steering and a precise six-speed transmission, the second-generation SLK-Class handles even more adeptly. In addition the new Roadster further expands upon the proven strengths of its predecessor, cases in point being the enhanced, space-saving vario roof, even more innovative safety systems and unique new developments such as the 7G-TRONIC seven-speed automatic transmission or the AIRSCARF neck-level heating system (optional extras). There are now four SLK-Class model variants to choose from: the four-cylinder SLK 200 KOMPRESSOR, the V6-powered SLK 280 and SLK 350 models and, finally, the eight-cylinder Mercedes-AMG version.

The design vocabulary of the latest Mercedes Roadster is equally dynamic.

Featuring attractively styled details such as the distinctive, rounded V-shaped nose, the finned radiator grille and the twin-pipe exhaust, all of which echo with Formula-1 overtones, the SLK design evokes the origins of the two-seater in a company that has a longstanding roadster tradition which began exactly 50 years ago.