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300 SL versus Jaguar versus Thunderbird - getting to the bottom of regulars' table discussions

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Created on November 1, 1960

Reading time 11min

Written by:

Hans-Günther Wolf

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Archiv

23

Archiv

23

Jaguar XK 150 (1958) - bearbeitetes Werksfoto

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Fahrverhalten im Vergleich - Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, Jaguar XK 150 und Ford Thunderbird von 1960

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Mercedes 300 SL, Ford Thunderbird und Jaguar XK 150 im Vergleich

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die Testprobanden werden sorgfältig und nachvollziehbar getankt

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Ford Thunderbird (1960) - Armaturenbrett

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Jaguar XK 150 (1960) - Armaturenbrett

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Mercedes 300 SL (1960) - Armaturenbrett

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Ford Thunderbird (1954) - am Automobilsalon von Paris im Jahr 1954

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Ford Thunderbird (1956) - das optionale Hardtop montiert, viel Zubehör war erhältlich

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Ford Thunderbird (1955) - mit Hardtop in attraktiver dunkler Lackierung

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Ford Thunderbird (1955) - ein sehr eleganter Wurf

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Ford Thunderbird (1956) - Freistehendes Reserverad

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Ford Thunderbird (1956) - Beim Öffnen klappt das Reserverad zurück

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Ford Thunderbird (1957) - am Genfer Automobilsalon von 1957

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Jaguar XK 150 Drophead Coupé (1958) - stimmige Aufnahme im Park

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Jaguar XK 150 Drophead Coupé (1960) - auf einer staubigen Strasse

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SL - 300 SL Cabriolet mit Hardtop am Mercedes-Stand des Genfer Autosalon 1961

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster (1957) - Seitenansicht Beifahrerseite

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupé (1958) - Cabriolet mit Hardtop als Coupé-Version

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (1958) - das Dach hat unter einer Klappe Platz

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (1958) - mit aufgesetztem Hardtop

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (1957) - Seitenansicht des Cabrios

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster (1957) - das Interieur des 300 SL Roadsters mit dem zentralen Einblick-Instrument

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Summary

In the early sixties, only a few people were able to afford one of the super sports cars of the time. All the more reason to argue at regulars' tables about which was the faster and better. The magazine 'hobby' compared three of the most popular sports cars of the time in order to bring a little more transparency to these regulars' table discussions. Few magazines at the time approached such a comparison so neutrally and without national prejudices. Worth reading! This report reprints the old report and shows many archive pictures of the individual vehicles in addition to the illustrations printed at the time.

This article contains the following chapters

A comparison of the three sports cars (notes)
Acceleration and braking performance in comparison
The technical data of the three vehicles

Estimated reading time: 11min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The expert avoids regulars' tables where petrol is discussed as much as possible. Because in the long run it is too exhausting for him to listen to all the maximum and average speeds, acceleration values, minimum fuel consumption and so on that he has to digest. However, there are also meetings of a different kind, those at which technical, sporting and economic aspects of motoring are discussed very objectively. The regulars' table, which we are talking about here because it is where the idea for our comparison drives was born, belongs to the more serious category. It (the table) is located somewhere in southern Germany, about halfway between Frankfurt and the Swiss border; it was a Frankfurt car enthusiast and a Swiss who have been meeting there in passing for years who got the famous ball rolling.

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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