HK-ENGINEERING

HK-ENGINEERING
Your partner for MB 300SL
Newsletter 2/08
CONTENTS
- The first Mercedes 300SL with more than 300 hp
- MB300SL Gullwing from first owner Gunter Sachs
- Mille Miglia 2008 - HK-ENGINEERING had 3 cars participating
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THE FIRST MERCEDES 300SL WITH MORE THAN 300 HP
During a test bench run at the beginning of April, a 300SL engine achieved a power of 320 hp for the
first time. The engine concerned is a 300SL engine with compressor, however, as used in the Porter
300SLS Special in the year 1956. Last year, HK-ENGINEERING had already managed to equip the
engine, installed in the Porter 300SLS Special refurbished in 2001, with a compressor. But during the
first attempt the engine „only“ managed 290 hp. The increase in power now achieved is mainly due
to the recalculated camshaft. The newly designed engine had its debut at the Jim Clark Revival event
at the Hockenheimring at the end of April and kept up a steady pace there.
A historical photo of the SLS Porter Special from the book:„Weekend Heroes“ by Tony Adriaensens
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MB 300SL GULLWING FROM FIRST OWNER GUNTER SACHS
Gunter Sachs inspected his former Gullwing model during a meeting with Hans Kleissl in Munich.
He was thrilled that, following the part-restoration by HK-ENGINEERING and repainting, the car
looked just as did when it was delivered to him. In the meantime, Hans Kleissl has sold this Gullwing
model to a new owner in Belgium. Further details about the vehicle:
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MB 300SL GULLWING FROM FIRST OWNER GUNTER SACHS
Model year: 1956 / Paint: light green metallic (original colour) / Interior: cream leather
First delivered: to Gunter Sachs in Germany / Matching Numbers
Gunter Sachs bought the Gullwing in 1956 at the same time as his brother bought the same
model in the colour „light blue metallic“, with the next VIN in series. After a few years,
he sold the vehicle to France. From there, it moved to the USA, to California to be exact,
where it spent the last 18 years in the possession of a well-known collector. After his death,
his daughter sold the car, and HK-ENGINEERING was able to purchase it. This Gullwing
was subject to a comprehensive overhaul, stripped down to the bare metal and repainted.
The vita of the Playboy legend Gunter Sachs (* 14th November 1932 at Castle Mainberg near
Schweinfurt) has been very eventful and varied: He made a name for himself as an industrialist,
sportsman, art collector, fashion designer, documentary film maker, photographer and author. His
name is always linked to unusually high standards and quality. With his intuition for the spirit of
the age, he discovered the then dreamy little fishing village of St. Tropez in the early 1950s. It was
to become the international meeting point for a new youth. On account of his extroverted way of
life, he became known as the prototype of the Gentleman Playboy, particularly in the 1960s and
1970s. His second wife was Brigitte Bardot, he has been happily married to Mirja Sachs for 37 years.
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MILLE MIGLIA 2008 - HK-ENGINEERING HAD 3 CARS PARTICIPATING
For the first time in many years, the Mille Miglia 2008 was not held by Mr. Franchi but rather by
a new event manager. Ahead of the race, it became clear that everything would be much more expensive
than before. Whether or not this made the Mille Miglia better is disputed. What definitely
was better were the catering and accommodation for participants. A shuttle service to the hotels was
set up for the first time, incidentally organised by one of the new main sponsors, Sixt, who is a HK-
ENGINEERING customer with its Gullwing. Mr. Sixt and his sons have been enthusiastic participants
in the Mille Miglia for years. Parking for the participants‘ vehicles in Rome‘s city centre was
also better than before, at the car park near the Via Aurelia. But that‘s all the positive news there is
to report. The starting line-up this year was much worse than before. There were far less top-grade
vehicles in the race than in previous years. The Mercedes Compressor scene was almost completely
absent, and there were hardly any pre-war Alfa Romeos either. On the other hand, numerous Austin
Healeys, Jaguar XKs and similar nice but known vehicles were in the race. There were hardly any
of the regular 300SL participants present. Nevertheless, there were still about twenty 300SLs in the
field, three of which were from HK-ENGINEERING, racing for the sponsor Schüco. The other
Gullwings were mostly from Daimler itself or from private Italian owners such as Ugo Gussali Berretta,
the traditional weapon manufacturer. Jochen Maas was there once again with his SLR. All the
300SLs got through the race without any major damage or problems, so that the service team from
HK-ENGINEERING had little to do and could really enjoy the Mille Miglia. As far as the agenda
goes, there was little change in comparison with earlier Mille Miglia races, except that the vehicles‘
arrival in Brescia on Saturday evening was quite late this time. Despite rumours to the contrary, the
Polizia were in a generous mood and drivers were able to put their foot down like in the good old days.
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HK-ENGINEERING GmbH
Klostergut - Kirchplatz 1
82398 Polling
Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 881/925 609 0
Fax: +49 (0) 881/925 609 19
info@hk-engineering.com
HK-ENGINEERING GmbH
im Meilenwerk Düsseldorf
Harffstr. 110 a
40591 Düsseldorf-Wersten
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)211 73 77 45 05
Fax: +49 (0)211 73 77 45 06
duesseldorf@hk-engineering.com
HK-ENGINEERING
im Meilenwerk Berlin
Wiebestraße 36
10553 Berlin
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)30 34 56 06 44
Fax. +49 (0)30 34 50 99 40
berlin@hk-engineering.com
www.hk-engineering.com
HK-ENGINEERING GmbH
Zahn-Nopper-Str. 16
70435 Stuttgart
Germany
Tel.: +49 711 814 771 77
fax.: +49 711 814 771 78
stuttgart@hk-engineering.com
Managing Director Johannes Kleissl - Magistrates Court Munich HRB 158346 - Company Headquarters: Polling - DE814485816
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