The SLC (C107) derivative was a 2-door hardtop coupe with normal rear seats. The SLC is commonly referred to as an 'SL coupe^] and it was the first and only time Mercedes-Benz based their S-class coupe on a stretched 2-seat SL roadster platform, rather than on a large S-class saloon. The SLC model run ended in 1981, much earlier than the SL. In September 1977 the 450 SLC 5.0 joined the line. The 450SLC 5.0 was produced to homologate the SLC for the 1978 World Rally Championship.

In what must have seemed a ludicrous act of folly at the time, Mercedes-Benz simply added some skid plates, lights, and a roll cage to a production 450SLC and entered it in the Vuelta a la America del Sud – a grueling five-week, 30,000km lap around South America that formed part of the 1978 World Rally Championship season. Perhaps to everyone’s surprise, after five weeks of slogging through South America, the Mercedes-Benz 450SLC came out on top.

The Mercedes-Benz 450SLC became the first 8-cylinder car as well as the first car with an automatic transmission to win an international rally event.

Both the SL and SLC models were also assembled in South Africa by UCDD (United Car and Diesel Distributors) for the captive domestic market from early 1977 (on a contractor basis before Daimler-Benz A.G. acquired a majority stake of UCDD in 1984) Only about 40 units per month were built.

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