Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing

The 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL was the world's fastest production car at launch, with a 215-horsepower 3.0-litre straight-six and a top speed of 163 mph — slower than #5’s Miura by 12 mph, but it pioneered fuel injection derived from Formula 1. Its gullwing doors, dictated by the high sills of the space-frame chassis, became the most dramatic styling gesture of the postwar era. The engine, tilted 50 degrees to lower the bonnet, delivered performance that no other production car could match in 1954, cementing the 300 SL as a technical and aesthetic icon.