How many Mercedes-Benz 280SL are left in New Zealand?
Rare 1 in 150,802 on the road Built 1968-1986 Sold new in New Zealand
Updated from the NZTA Motor Vehicle Register, counted as at 31 August 2026. Recounted every month.
Two different roadsters wore this badge. The first is the last and best-liked version of the Pagoda SL of the 1960s, so called because its removable hardtop dips in the middle like a pagoda roof. The second is the six-cylinder version of the long-running R107 SL, sold in Europe from the mid-1970s as the economical alternative to the V8s.
Still on the road, by model year
The most are from 1969: 6 still registered. Every year is listed under the chart.
Every model year
| Model year | Still registered |
|---|---|
| 1968 | 4 |
| 1969 | 6 |
| 1970 | 1 |
| 1972 | 1 |
| 1976 | 3 |
| 1977 | 1 |
| 1978 | 1 |
| 1980 | 1 |
| 1981 | 1 |
| 1982 | 2 |
| 1983 | 1 |
| 1984 | 3 |
| 1985 | 5 |
| 1986 | 1 |
What Rare means
Spotto grades every car by how many are still registered in New Zealand. With 31 still registered, the Mercedes-Benz 280SL is Rare: the grade for cars with 25 to 174 left.
By how many are left it ranks 65th of the 102 Mercedes-Benz models and equal 1,505th of all 2,903 cars in Spotto's catalogue.
The six grades: Common, 8,000 or more · Uncommon, 1,200 to 7,999 · Scarce, 175 to 1,199 · Rare, 25 to 174 · Super rare, 5 to 24 · Unicorn, fewer than 5.
Seen one?
Spotto grades every car on New Zealand roads by how many are still registered, down to the generation and the badge. Log the ones you spot, build a collection, and see who else has found one.