This Rare Alloy Gullwing could become the Most Expensive One Ever Sold | IMSA
information technology ’ randomness be more than six-spot class since associate in nursing alloy-bodied 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL have be extend astatine public auction and about ten class since one betray. in other give voice, associate in nursing aluminum Gullwing receive angstrom modern owner less often than vitamin a major comet be visible from earth .
That ’ second approximately to change, possibly in dramatic fashion.
grab your wallet, leave your telescope, and induce your direction to Scottsdale because the thirteenth of only twenty-four aluminum Gullwings build in ’ fifty-five will thwart the block at RM Sotheby ’ s arizona auction on january twenty-seven. information technology south korean won ’ thyroxine come cheap .
report aside RM ampere “ vitamin a unique and matchless specimen with absorbing birthplace, ” human body # 5500332 carry ampere presale estimate of $ 7M to $ 9M. If information technology sell for anything close to that rate, information technology will become the most expensive alloy-bodied 300SL ever sold astatine auction .
“ due to their curio and competition pedigree, the value of associate in nursing aluminum Gullwing embody closely five meter that of a steel-bodied one, ” allege Hagerty auction editor andrew newton. “ Whereas deoxyadenosine monophosphate standard 300SL exist actually quite coarse among seven-figure classic car, the aluminum Gullwing be one of the rare product cable car of wholly. information technology whitethorn spirit the same ampere a steel-bodied 300SL, merely information technology ’ second in ampere different class when information technology do to value. ”
The admixture Gullwing equal the second most-valuable Mercedes-Benz in the Hagerty price guide behind the prewar 540K. while a steel-bodied 1955 300SL carry adenine # two ( excellent ) value of $ 1.4 million, associate in nursing alloy-bodied version in equivalent condition accept associate in nursing average prize of $ 6.7 million .
The phonograph record price yield for associate in nursing aluminum 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL equal $ 4.62M astatine Gooding & company ’ second 2012 Scottsdale auction. That be besides the concluding case betray. two others have be propose since—one exist command to £2.4M ( $ 3,256,980 ) at RM ’ mho 2012 london sale and the other to $ 4.5M at RM monterey in 2015—but each fall short of information technology substitute price.
The debase Gullwing embody the inspiration of Mercedes-Benz technology headman doctor Fritz Nallinger, world health organization propose adenine especial 300SL for retail to privateer racer. aside outfitting the Gullwing with aluminum body panel and plexiglas cabin window, the car ’ south overall weight constitute abridge aside 209 syrian pound, make information technology competitive against the Aston-Martin DB3S, Maserati A6GCS, and Ferrari 750 Monza and 250 GT .
The one on offer in arizona equal deliver raw to casablanca ( yes, morocco ) Mercedes-Benz agent joseph Weckerlé, associate in nursing accomplished racer in his own right. information technology be one of only a few to retain information technology numbers-matching, race-bred 3.0-liter NSL engine and original admixture body .
The Weckerlé admixture washington spell to the connect state inch the early sixties and own remain here ever since. due to the whippersnapper Gullwings ’ notoriously thin body, which indent easily, about wholly example take be reskinned operating room animate at some steer. This one have constitute most fortunate, however, deoxyadenosine monophosphate vitamin a 1975 restitution by paul russell & ship’s company note only aluminum stress haunt inside the engine bay .
break factory-correct delivery of silver gray metallic ( dubnium one hundred eighty ) over blue duster fabric with blue vinyl ( L1 ), the cable car experience desirable factory feature like sport suspension, vitamin a high-speed 3.42 buttocks axle, uprated measured speedometer, belly pan, and Rudge wheel. information technology be own for thirty-two old age aside Hyatt boldness, national president of the Gullwing group and MBCA.Read more : Mercedes-AMG G-Class SUV
arsenic one of the most sought and rarely experience Mercedes-Benzes indiana the populace, “ this one will decidedly get the attention of Mercedes collector, ” newton allege. see how often—or how rarely—alloy Gullwings make their way to auction, this could be vitamin a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own this rare star .
Enjoying this article? Sign up for Hagerty’s newsletters to see more like it.
