The manual 5-speed was offered only on the 300SL and is treated as the connoisseur's R129, with one commenter tallying 397 US dogleg-manual imports (130 in 1990, 242 in 1991, 25 in 1992). Enthusiasts prize the straight-six-plus-manual combination and the lighter front end versus the V8/V12 cars; notably, the manual was the base transmission and the automatic was the extra-cost option.
Rare manual 5-speed 300SL and the dogleg gearbox
Mercedes-Benz SL (R129) · history