135 million euros. This is the highest amount ever paid for any vehicle auctioned for one Mercedes of 1955, a model that was produced only twice, as announced by Sotheby’s.
This is a 1955 Mercedes Coupé 300 SLR Uhlenhaut, which was sold at auction in a very closed circle at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, as part of a collaboration between Sotheby’s subsidiary and the German car industry.
According to the auction house, the 300 SLR, recognizable by its distinctive shape and its doors that open upwards, was designed by engineer Rudolf Ulenhaut based on the W196 R Grand Prix, which has won two Formula 1 world championships ( 1954, 1955) with Italian-Argentinean pilot Juan Manuel Fango at the helm.
But Mercedes-Benz was indelibly marked by the horrific accident of June 1955 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, when French driver Pierre Leveque and 83 spectators were killed, and withdrew from the rally for years.
Record amount
The 135 million euros is almost three times the previous record amount given in 2018 for a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, which was sold by RM Sotheby’s for EUR 45 million.
The car now takes up space “In the top ten most expensive items ever sold at auction”, The company clarified in an announcement published yesterday Thursday in London and at the same time in New York by the parent company, which this week has various works of art in its spring auctions.
According to data collected by the French Agency, the highest price ever paid for a work of art in auction has the painting “Salvator Mundi” by Leonardo da Vinci, which was sold in November 2017 for 450.3 million euros by Christie’s in New York.
The 1955 Mercedes, described by RM Sotheby’s as “the most beautiful car in the world”, ranks 6th or 7th.
The vehicle, which belonged, like the second of its kind, to Mercedes-Benz, sold to a private collector who wished to remain anonymous. The sale will create the international “Mercedes-Benz Fund” that will train and train new researchers in the fields of environment and reducing carbon dioxide emissions, always according to RM Sotheby’s.
The buyer consented to the car being displayed at special demonstrations for the public. The second model of the type remains in the hands of Mercedes-Benz, which exhibits it at its museum in Stuttgart, reports APE-MPE.
Source: News Beast
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