What makes an iconic movie moment iconic? Ask the experts and they will say that it is the result of achieving an emotional connection with the audience - be that emotion sympathy, empathy or even envy. Whether one feels love or dismay or anything else when a cool guy or beautiful woman turns up in a sleek sports car is often a very personal - and much debated - matter. Case in point: Richard Gere in American Gigolo driving his black Mercedes-Benz 450 SL open top throughout the movie, Angelina Jolie getting out of her silver 1969 280 SL with red interior and alloy rims in Life or Something Like it or more recently and more subtly, a dark early 280 SL that is moving along the London docks in 2011 British espionage film Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Movies and the automobile grew up together, so to speak. In the playground that was the Industrial Revolution the development of the automobile roughly coincided with that of cinematography, namely in the 1880/90s. And down to this day, cars remain a major factor in the design and style of a movie and the making of a character. Unless, of course, the car is the character. Like the Mercedes-Benz SL (SL standing for super, lightweight) which over the past 60 years has been featured in more than 150 movies and TV series in one or other of its different generations (for details, see list below).

Soon after it’s debut in New York in February 1954, the legendary 300 SL Gullwing and its successors began to be offered roles in movies. The SL became a dream car for the dream factory, whether acting as a fast getaway car, a stylish travelling companion or a lavish gift.

"Engineered like no other car", says Clint Eastwood in The Rookie (1990), voluntarily uttering the famous ad-line after smashing an SL through a window on the top floor of an exploding building. For those mourning the wasteful destruction of a beautiful car: this was actually a shell especially constructed for the stunt, while the real car was dropped from a much lower height - and survived.

The SL also made an appearance in many James Bond movies, mostly driven by the bad guys. These days, scripts sent in to Mercedes-Benz USA are evaluated carefully in order to find a suitable role for each car. The precious cargo will often be accompanied by a “babysitter” who will ensure that it receives proper treatment. Less critical is the bodypaint of the car: a special latex paint will be applied with a coat of the new desired colour on top. When the movie is finished, the latex paint can simply be removed along with the topcoat. Typically, the first batches of a new series will be used for films and then become part of the press fleet, often resulting in frustrated customers who wait impatiently for their order to be delivered while they see their particular model already driving around or featured in a film.

With a past and a filmography as impressive as that of the SL, it is no surprise then that it also became a favourite with the stars of the time and left a lasting impact on popular culture. Famous drivers included Sophia Loren, Alfred Hitchcock, Grace Kelly, Kirk Douglas, John Travolta, John Lennon, Picasso, Steve Jobs and Kate Moss. Natalie Wood, for example, famously had her 300SL - which cost around 12,000 Dollars at the time - sprayed pink. It features original knock-off wheels, which add about 70,000 Dollars to its current value. Their original price: 400 Dollars. The car still exists and, now gleaming in light blue metallic, was part of a small but exclusive exhibition “SL@Hollywood - Celebrating 60 years of a living legend”, at the Warner Brothers Studios in Los Angeles, showcasing each model in its respective decade.

Previous Oscar winner Joel Cox was on site and shared some of his anecdotes from various film sets. Cox has worked with Clint Eastwood for over 35 years, and won an Academy Award® for Best Editing for Unforgiven. He received another Oscar® nomination for his editing work on Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby as well as a BAFTA Award nomination for work on the movie Changeling.

Mercedes-Benz fittingly chose the recent weekend of the 84th Academy Awards to introduce the new 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL550 to an exclusive audience. This new addition to the family is already in talks for upcoming movies - continuing the long tradition of Hollywood’s love affair with this sleek character.
Combined fuel consumption: 9,2-6,8 l/100 km, Combined CO2 emission: 214-159 g/km*

See the gallery above for images of the exhibition showing the SL models from the different decades and the drive of the author and other attendees through the Hollywood Hills in the vintage cars on the weekend of the Oscars. Enjoy!

More information about the new SL: www.mercedes-benz.com
Special thanks to: Royce Rumsey

A selection of SL movie and TV appearances:

300 SL Gullwing (produced 1954 – 1957)
• The Screaming Skull, 1958 starring John Hudson, Peggy Webber and Russ Conway
• A Stranger in My Arms, 1959 starring June Allyson, Jeff Chandler and Sandra Dee
• Roadracers, 1959 starring Joel Lawrence, Marian Collier and Skip Ward
• On the Beach, 1959 starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and Fred Astaire
• Love Is a Ball, 1963 (plus 300 SL Roadster) starring Glenn Ford and Telly Savalas
• Gone in 60 Seconds, 1974 starring H.B. Halicki, Marion Busia and Jerry Daugirda
• The Betsy, 1978 starring Laurence Olivier, Robert Duvall and Katharine Ross
• The Junkman,1982 (plus SL Pagoda and R 107) starring H.B. Halicki, Christopher Stone and Susan Shaw
• The Flamingo Kid, 1984 starring Matt Dillon and Molly McCarthy
• Cannonball Run II, 1984 starring Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise and Dean Martin
• Mr. Destiny, 1990 starring James Belushi, Linda Hamilton and Michael Caine
• The Rookie, 1990 (plus R 107 and R 129) starring Clint Eastwood, Charlie Sheen and Raul Julia
• Batman Forever, 1995 starring Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey
• The Glimmer Man, 1996 starring Steven Seagal, Keenen Ivory Wayans and Bob Gunton
• Money Talks, 1997 (plus R 129) starring Charlie Sheen, Chris Tucker and Heather Looklear
• Batman & Robin, 1997 starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and George Clooney
• The Game, 1997 starring Michael Douglas, Deborah Kara Unger and Sean Penn
• Charlie’s Angels, 2000 (plus 300 SL Roadster) starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu
• The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, 2004 starring Geoffrey Rush, Charlize Theron and Emily Watson
• Father of Invention, 2010 starring Kevin Spacey, Camilla Belle and Heather Graham
• The Green Hornet, 2011 starring Seth Rogen, Jay Chou and Christoph Waltz
• The Simpsons, TV Series since 1989

190 SL Roadster (produced 1955 – 1963)
• High Society, 1956 starring Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby
• Hot Cars, 1956 starring John Bromfield and Carol Shannon
• The Girl Can't Help It, 1956 starring Tom Ewell, Jayne Mansfield and Edmond O’Brien
• Stakeout on Dope Street, 1958 starring Yale Wexler, Jonathan Haze and Steven Marlo
• The Shaggy Dog, 1959 starring Fred MacMurray, Jean Hagen and Tommy Kirk
• Girls Town, 1959 starring Mamie Van Doren, Mel Tormé and Ray Anthony
• Never Steal Anything Small, 1959 starring James Cagney, Shirley Jones and Roger Smith
• Portrait in Black, 1960 (plus 300 SL Roadster) starring Lana Turner, Anthony Quinn and Richard Basehart
• G.I. Blues, 1960 starring Elvis Presley, Juliet Prowse and Robert Ivers
• Goodbye Again, 1961 starring Ingrid Bergman, Yves Montand and Anthony Perkins
• The Choppers, 1961 starring Arch Hall Jr., Robert Paget and Burr Middleton
• By Love Possessed, 1961 starring Lana Turner, Jason Robards and Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
• The Thrill of It All, 1963 starring Doris Day, James Garner and Arlene Francis
• The Family Jewels, 1965 starring Jerry Lewis, Sebastian Cabot and Neil Hamilton
• Agent for H.A.R.M., 1966 starring Peter Mark Richman, Wendell Corey and Carl Esmond
• House of Cards, 1968 starring George Peppard, Inger Stevens and Orson Welles
• Bullitt, 1968 starring Steve McQueen, Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Vaughn
• Body Fever, 1969 starring Carolyn Brandt, Bernard Fein and Gary Kent
• Play Misty for Me, 1971 starring Clint Eastwood, Jessica Walter and Donna Mills
• Executive Action, 1973 starring Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan and Will Geer
• The Laughing Policeman, 1973 starring Walter Matthau, Bruce Dern and Louis Gossett Jr.
• In God We Tru$t, 1980 starring Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle and Louise Lasser
• The Five Heartbeats, 1991 starring Robert Townsend, Michael Wright and Leon
• French Kiss, 1995 starring Meg Ryan, Kevin Kline and Timothy Hutton
• Casino, 1995 starring Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci
• The Ice Storm, 1997 starring Kevin Kline, Joan Allen and Sigourney Weaver
• Kojak, TV Series 1973 – 1978
• Starsky and Hutch, TV Series 1975 - 1979
• The A-Team, TV Series 1983 – 1987

300 SL Roadster (produced 1957 – 1963)
• Pillow Talk, 1959 starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson
• It started with a Kiss, 1959 starring Glenn Ford, Debbie Reynolds and Eva Gabor
• Portrait in Black, 1960 (plus 190 SL) starring Lana Turner, Anthony Quinn and Richard Basehart
• High Time, 1960 starring Bing Crosby, Fabian and Tuesday Weld
• Cinderfella, 1960 starring Jerry Lewis, Judith Anderson and Ed Wynn
• The Lost World, 1960 starring Michael Rennie, Jill St. John and David Hedison
• Flower Drum Song, 1961 starring Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta and Benson Fong
• A Majority of One, 1961 starring Rosalind Russell and Alec Guiness
• Parrish, 1961 starring Troy Donahue, Claudette Colbert and Karl Malden
• Love Is a Ball, 1963 (plus 300 SL Gullwing) starring Glenn Ford and Telly Savalas
• Viva Las Vegas, 1964 starring Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret
• What a Way to Go, 1964 starring Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman and Robert Michum
• Munster, Go Home!, 1966 starring Fred Gwynne, Yvonne de Carlo and Al Lewis
• The Gumball Rally, 1976 starring Michael Sarrazin, Tim McIntire and Susan Flannery
• Quiz Show, 1994 starring John Turturro, Ralph Fiennes and Rob Morrow
• Charlie’s Angels, 2000 (plus 300 SL Gullwing)  starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu
• Knight Rider, TV Series 1982 – 1986 

SL Pagoda (produced 1963 – 1971)
• Die! Die! My Darling, 1965 starring Stephanie Powers, Peter Vaughan and Donald Sutherland
• I’ll Take Sweden, 1965 starring Bob Hope, Dina Merrill and Frankie Avalon
• Arabesque, 1966 starring Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren and Alan Badel
• The Singing Nun, 1966 starring Debbie Reynolds, Ricardo Montalban and Greer Garson
• Barefoot in the Park, 1967 starring Robert Redford, Jane Fonda and Charles Boyer
• Two for the Road, 1967 starring Audrey Hepburn, Albert Finney and Eleanor Bron
• Caprice, 1967 starring Doris Day, Richard Harris and Ray Walston
• Nobody Runs Forever, 1968 starring Rod Taylor, Christopher Plummer and Lilli Palmer
• The Shoes of the Fisherman, 1968 starring Anthony Quinn, Laurence Olivier and Oskar Werner
• The Wrecking Crew, 1969  starring Dean Martin, Elke Sommer and Sharon Tate
• The Million Dollar Duck, 1971 starring Dean Jones, Sandy Duncan and Joe Flynn
• Shampoo, 1975 starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie and Goldie Hawn
• Breaking Away, 1979 starring Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid and Daniel Stern
• 10, 1979 (plus R 107) starring Dudley Moore, Bo Derek and Julie Andrews
• Body Double, 1984 (plus R 107) starring Craig Wasson, Melanie Griffith and Gregg Henry
• Top Gun, 1986 starring Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis and Val Kilmer
• Intersection, 1994 starring Richard Gere, Sharon Stone and Lolita Davidovich
• Killing Me Softly, 2002 starring Heather Graham, Joseph Fiennes and Natascha McElhone
• Life or Something Like it, 2002 starring Angelina Jolie, Edward Burns and Tony Shalhoub
• The Sum of All Fears, 2002 starring Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman and James Cromwell
• Second Nature, 2003 (TV movie) starring Alec Baldwin, Powers Boothe and Louise Lombard
• The Door in the Floor, 2004 starring Kim Basinger, Jeff Bridges and Jon Foster
• Starsky & Hutch, 2004 starring Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and Snoop Dogg
• Cannon, TV Series 1971 – 1976
• Kojak, TV Series 1973 – 1978

SL Roadster – Series R 107 (produced 1971 – 1989)
• Charley Varrick, 1973 starring Walter Matthau, Joe Don Baker and Felicia Farr
• California Suite, 1978 starring Jane Fonda, Alan Alda and Maggie Smith
• American Gigolo, 1980 starring Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton and Hector Elizondo
• Caddyshack, 1980 starring Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield and Bill Murray
• S.O.B., 1981 starring Julie Andrews, William Holden and Marisa Berenson
• Max Dugan Returns, 1983 starring Jason Robards, Marsha Mason and Donald Sutherland
• Never Say Never Again (James Bond 007), 1983 starring Sean Connery, Kim Basinger and Klaus Maria Brandauer
• Beverly Hills Cop, 1984 starring Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold and John Ashton
• Tightrope, 1984 starring Clint Eastwood, Geneviève Bujold and Alison Eastwood
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, 1986 starring Dennis Hopper, Caroline Williams and Jim Siedow
• Barfly, 1987 starring Mickey Rourke, Faye Dunaway and Alice Krige
• Beverly Hills Cop II, 1987 starring Eddie Murphy, Jürgen Prochnow and Brigitte Nielsen
• Some Kind of Wonderful, 1987 starring Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson and Lea Thompson
• A Fish called Wanda, 1988 starring John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline
• Beaches, 1988 starring Bette Midler, Barbara Hershey and John Heard
• K-9, 1989 starring James Belushi, Mel Harris and Kevin Tigh
• Police Academy 6: City Under Siege, 1989 starring Bubba Smith, David Graf and Michael Winslow
• Lionheart, 1990 starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Harrison Page and Deborah Rennard
• The Rookie, 1990 (plus 300 SL Gullwing and R 129) starring Clint Eastwood, Charlie Sheen and Raul Julia
• L.A. Story, 1991 starring Steve Martin, Victoria Tennant and Sarah Jessica Parker
• Delirious, 1991 starring John Candy, Mariel Hemingway and Emma Samms
• Straight Talk, 1992 starring Dolly Parton, James Woods and Griffin Dunne
• Passenger 57, 1992 (plus R 129) starring Wesley Snipes, Bruce Payne and Tom Sizemore
• The Bodyguard, 1992 starring Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston and Gary Kemp
• Casino, 1995 (plus 190 SL) starring Sharon Stone, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci
• Hollow Man, 2000 starring Kevin Bacon, Elisabeth Shue and Josh Brolin
• Gone in Sixty Seconds, 2000 (plus R 129) starring Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie and Giovanni Ribisi
• Jackass: The Movie, 2002 starring Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera and Chris Pontius
• In her Shoes, 2005 starring Toni Collette, Cameron Diaz and Shirley MacLaine
• No Strings Attached, 2011 starring Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Kline
• Starsky & Hutch, TV Series 1975 – 1979 (plus 190 SL and SL Pagoda)
• Dallas, TV Series 1978 – 1991 (plus R 129)
• Hart to Hart, TV Series 1979 – 1984
• The A-Team, TV Series 1983 – 1987 (plus 190 SL and SL Pagoda) 
• Miami Vice, TV Series 1984 – 1989
• CSI: Miami, TV Series 2002 – 2011 (plus R 230)
• Everybody Hates Chris, TV Series 2005 - 2009 (plus R 230)

SL Roadster – Series R 129 (produced 1989 – 2001)
• The Rookie, 1990 (plus 300 SL Gullwing and R 107) starring Clint Eastwood, Charlie Sheen and Raul Julia
• The Doctor, 1991 starring William Hurt, Christine Lahti and Elizabeth Perkins
• Jungle Fever, 1991 starring Wesley Snipes, Samuel L. Jackson and Anthony Quinn
• Iron Maze, 1991 starring Jeff Fahey, Bridget Fonda and Hiroaki Murakami
• Problem Child 2, 1991 starring John Ritter, Michael Oliver and Jack Warden
• Dutch, 1991 starring Ed O'Neill, Ethan Embry and JoBeth Williams
• Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time, 1991 starring Marc Singer, James Avery and Michael Berryman
• Father of the Bride, 1991 starring Steve Martin, Diane Keaton and Martin Short
• The Lawnmower Man, 1992 starring Pierce Brosnan, Jeff Fahey and Jenny Wright
• The Player, 1992 starring Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi and Whoopi Goldberg
• Passenger 57, 1992 (plus R 107) starring Wesley Snipes, Bruce Payne and Tom Sizemore
• Death Becomes Her, 1992 starring Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis and Goldie Hawn
• Another Stakeout, 1993 starring Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez and Rosie O’Donnell
• For Love or Money, 1993 starring Michael J. Fox, Gabrielle Anwar and Anthony Higgins
• Falling Down, 1993 starring Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall and Barbara Hershey
• Hot Shots! Part Deux, 1993 starring Charlie Sheen, Lloyd Bridges and Valeria Golino
• Addams Family Values, 1993 starring Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia and Christopher Lloyd
• Mother’s Boys, 1994 starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Peter Gallagher and Joanne Whalley
• Major League II, 1994 starring Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger and Corbin Bernsen
• The Immortals, 1995 starring Eric Roberts, Joe Pantoliano and Tia Carrere
• Fled, 1996 starring Laurence Fishburne, Stephen Baldwin and Will Patton
• Liar Liar, 1997 starring Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney and Justin Cooper
• Metro, 1997 starring Eddie Murphy, Michael Rapaport and Kim Miyori
• The Gingerbread Man, 1998 starring Kenneth Branagh, Embeth Davidtz and Robert Downey Jr.
• Kissing a Fool, 1998 starring David Schwimmer, Jason Lee and Mili Avital
• Bowfinger, 1999 starring Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy and Heather Graham
• Mumford, 1999 starring Loren Dean, Hope Davis and Jason Lee
• Magnolia, 1999 starring Tom Cruise, Jason Robards and Julianne Moore
• Dude, Where’s My Car?, 2000 starring Ashton Kutcher, Seann William Scott and Jennifer Garner
• Scream 3, 2000 starring David Arquette, Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox
• The Animal, 2001 starring Rob Schneider, Colleen Haskell and John C. McGinley
• Heartbreakers, 2001 starring Sigourney Weavers, Gene Hackman and Jennifer Love Hewitt
• The Princess Diaries, 2001 starring Julie Andrews, Anne Hathaway and Hector Elizondo
• Landspeed, 2002 starring Billy Zane, Ray Wise and Pamela Gidley
• Intolerable Cruelty, 2003 starring George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Billy Bob Thornton
• Hitch, 2005 starring Will Smith, Eva Mendes and Kevin James
• What Just Happened?, 2008 (plus R 230) starring Robert De Niro, John Turturro and Stanley Tucci
• Beverly Hills 90210, TV Series 1990 - 2000
• Melrose Place, TV Series 1992 – 1999

SL Roadster – Series R 230 (produced 2001 – 2011)
• Die Another Day (James Bond 007), 2002 starring Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry and Rosamund Pike
• Something’s Gotta Give, 2003 starring Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves
• Bruce Almighty, 2003 starring Jim Carrey, Jennifer Aniston and Morgan Freeman
• S.W.A.T., 2003 starring Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell and Michelle Rodriguez
• Two for the Money, 2005 starring Matthew McConaughey, Al Pacino and Rene Russo
• Goal!, 2005  starring Kuno Becker, Alessandro Nivola and Anna Friel
• 7 Seconds, 2005 starring Wesley Snipes, Tamzin Outhwaite and Deobia Oparei
• Rush Hour 3, 2007 starring Jackie Chan, Max von Sydow and Chris Tucker
• Knocked Up, 2007 starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl and Paul Rudd
• Redline, 2007 starring Nathan Phillips, Eddie Griffin and Nadia Bjorlin
• The Bucket List, 2007 starring Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman and Sean Hayes
• Jumper, 2008 starring Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson and Jamie Bell
• What Just Happened?, 2008 (plus R 129) starring Robert De Niro, John Turturro and Stanley Tucci
• The Burning Plain, 2008 starring Charlize Theron, John Corbett and José María Yazpik
• The Uninvited, 2009 starring Emily Browning, Arielle Kebbel and Elizabeth Banks
• Solitary Man, 2009 starring Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon and Jesse Eisenberg
• 2012, 2009 starring John Cusack, Thandie Newton and Chiwetel Ejiofor
• Get him to the Greek, 2010 starring Jonah Hill, Russell Brand and Elisabeth Moss
• Bad Teacher, 2011 starring Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel and Justin Timberlake
• Flypaper, 2011 starring Patrick Dempsey, Ashley Judd and Tim Blake Nelson
• The Reunion, 2011 starring John Cena, Ethan Embry and Amy Smart
• Setup, 2011 starring Bruce Willis and Ryan Phillippe
• CSI: Miami, TV Series 2002 – 2011 (plus R 107)
• Everybody Hates Chris, TV Series 2005 - 2009 (plus R 107)
• Melrose Place, TV Series 2009 – 2010