After our story yesterday on Magnus Walker's Porsche 911 930 "Turbo Fever," we are delighted to share Mercedes-Benz Gullwing "Salt Fever" by Petrolicious. From turbo fever to salt fever, one thing is clear: there are car enthusiasts among us that are willing to pursue the irrational in their quest for nirvana.
Salt Fever is of course the dangerous addiction for speed at the Bonneville Salt Flats, a place widely regarded as the mecca for speed. In this awesome video, Petrolicious explores Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing owner Bob Sirna and his attitude to life, to cars, and his relationship with Bonneville.
"You only live once and you can't take it with you," said Sirna. "I want to put this away wet, and wear it out."
Bob Sirna's unique and unwavering attitude towards life makes him the one and only Gullwing owner regularly challenge the limits of this rare and valuable 60-year-old machine. While other 300SL Gullwing examples are safely tucked away in museums and private collections, Sirna drives his SL and drives it hard.
"After seven years, I've finally figured out how to hot rod the Mercedes-Benz hot rod," boasts Sirna. A student of history, Bob Sirna describes the origins of the 3.0-liter inline-six inside the 300SL, which was taken from the heavy Merc sedans. The straight-six would be fortififed for the 300SL at Le Mans in 1952. Finally, Mercedes-Benz applied direct-injection for the 300SL engine in 1954-- that's a naturally aspirated 240 hp fifty years ago.
Finally, Bob Sirna is a child of the Salt Flats. "It's a car. It's designed to be used. It's not a piece of jewelry. This car is having more fun than most people in a lifetime."
"You ought to wake up every morning saying 'I'm doing what I want to do in my life,' and that includes the way you treat your family, treat them right, leave the Earth a little better than it was, and enjoy your toys. Don't worry about breaking them, don't worry about scratching them, just have fun with them.'
Without further ado, we would like you to meet Bob Sirna, the most maverick Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing owner you'll ever meet.
