This 230 SL is different. link Two months after the 230 SL debuted, Pininfarina (a coachbuilder, or maker of custom body designs; Pininfarina is one of the greatest) got approval from Mercedes to do a body on the 230 SL chassis. The design was by an American – Tom Tjaarda, who pulled up stakes for Turin in 1963 to work for Pininfarina. The body got wider, the roof became convex instead of concave, and Tjaarda gave the grille a sharper rake. Voila: a non-Pagoda Pagoda.