1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe
Courtesy: RM Sotheby’s
An ultra-unusual Mercedes-Benz race auto offered for $143 million previously this thirty day period, earning it the most expensive car or truck ever offered.
RM Sotheby’s declared it auctioned off a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe for 135 million euros, or about $143 million. The sale smashed the earlier file for the most highly-priced vehicle offered at auction by a lot more than $95 million and topped the $70 million document for a car or truck bought privately.
The profitable bid was made by British motor vehicle collector, advisor and seller Simon Kidston on behalf of an unnamed customer. Kidston lobbied the Mercedes-Benz board for 18 months to contemplate promoting the auto.
The sale, first documented by Hagerty Insider, took location May possibly 5 in a secretive and extremely strange auction at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. Only selected collectors and Mercedes-Benz shoppers ended up invited to show up at.
The 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe is a person of only two designed in 1955 and is regarded as a single of the most prized vehicles in vehicle heritage. It was crafted by Mercedes’ race section and named immediately after its chief engineer and designer, Rudolf Uhlenhaut.
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe
Courtesy: RM Sotheby’s
The auto was based on the firm’s productive W 196 R Grand Prix vehicle, which gained two Earth Championships with driver Juan Manuel Fangio. The 300 SLR experienced a much larger, 3.-liter engine and was in a position to get to 180 mph, making it one particular of the speediest street-lawful cars and trucks at the time.
The Mercedes-Benz business owned each of the 300 SLR autos, and the May 5 sale took a lot of collectors by shock.
“It is realistic to say that nobody ever imagined that this auto would ever be available for sale, so for Mercedes-Benz to question RM Sotheby’s to carry out the auction was an complete honor,” explained Peter Wallman, RM Sotheby’s chairman for the U.K. and EMEA.
Mercedes-Benz stated it will donate the proceeds to produce a fund for scholarships and educational exploration into the surroundings and decarbonization.
Prior to the sale, the most highly-priced car or truck sold at auction was a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO that went for $48.5 million at RM Sotheby’s in 2018. A 1963 Ferrari GTO bought privately in 2018 for $70 million.