See Rare Mercedes-Benz SL500 From The 90s Get Detailed By A Pro

Just 12 units of the German convertible were allegedly ever painted in Sunburst Yellow. This is one of them.

Photo by: YouTube

Iulian Dnistran

By: Iulian Dnistran

Jul 30, 2023 at 8:57am ET

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The Mercedes-Benz SL that debuted as a 1990 model in the United States was a pretty distinguished convertible when it first hit the streets, thanks to its good looks and plush ride, making it a favorite among the suit-wearing crowd of the 90s.

It was also featured in the hit classic Return of the Mack video by Mark Morrison, and it was sold in over 200,000 units worldwide, so it’s safe to say that the R129 SL-Class was a pretty popular convertible in its day.

Nowadays, a well-maintained SL500 powered by a 5.0-liter V8 engine sells for anywhere from $8,000 and $27,000, according to Cars And Bids, but maybe a special and rare color could raise that price even higher.

A color like Sunburst Yellow, which was apparently applied to just 12 units of the SL500 sold in the United States, according to the video embedded above, where the people over at the I AM Detailing YouTube channel do their magic and clean every nook and cranny of the German convertible, as well as making it shine like new.

As you can see, the car wasn’t exactly in dire need of TLC, but nevertheless, the detailers rolled their sleeves and got to work blasting the underbody with dry ice, thoroughly washing the exterior and protecting it against the elements, as well as cleaning and applying a protection layer to the leather-clad black interior that screams the 90s.

The result is impressive, to say the least, with no micro scratches or imperfections to be seen anywhere on the head-turning yellow paint. But, then again, that’s why it was shipped to the detailer in the first place.

What do you think?

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While not mentioned in the video, the car in question seems to be a post-1998 model, judging by the updated, rounded tail lights and body-colored door handles, which also means it’s powered by the 302 horsepower, 24-valve V8 engine introduced at the end of the 90s, whereas previous SL500s were powered by a 32-valve V8 that made 322 hp.

As always, we’d like to know what you think about this, so after watching the video embedded at the top of this page, scroll down to the comments section to give us your thoughts.