The Lesney model of the luxurious convertible version of the Mercedes 230 SL made it's debut into the Matchbox 1-75 series in 1966 replacing the Cadillac sixty special at the number 27 position,
It was painted in just the one colour scheme which was off white to light cream snd shades can vary some,
It had a red plastic interior incorporating the steering wheel and tow hook in the molding and it was fitted with a clear plastic windscreen,
The base plate was silver plated metal which had the grille, Headlights and front and rear bumper detail cast in so silver trim was not needed on this model.
The baseplate does tend to tarnish over the years, It was attached to the body by two round rivets, One was located at the front and one at the rear.
It was fitted with just one wheel type which was 11 x 45 black plastic wheels which were mounted on dome head axles with rounded ends. The first casting modification was to add a small brace to the baseplate below the towing hook to prevent the towing hook bending down,
Next two small triangular braces were cast in, One under each of the front wings,
The spring that held the doors closed was next for attention, On the early issues the plastic spring was molded in as part of the interior but on later issues it was removed and a metal spring was used instead.
Models with a number 27 cast inside the doors have been reported but not confirmed,
A few years ago a green pre production model of the Mercedes 230 held the world record price for a Lesney toy.
The Mercedes was sold in 'E' and 'F' type boxes and the 'F' type box is the less common,
It was converrted to superfast wheels in 1970 and it was finally deleted in 1973.
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