1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Coupé Sells for a Record $142 million

A private collector purchased the car from Mercedes-Benz for a record €135 million.
The car is one of only two 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Coupés ever built.
The SLR is a closed-roof version of the car driven by Stirling Moss and set a record at the Mille Miglia.

It’s difficult to stop looking at the provided images of this incredible car. Arguably one of the most beautiful automotive creations ever, this 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Coupé had been with Benz up until now. Earlier this month, someone bought it for an incredible €135 million or $142 million.

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Coupé | Photo: Mercedes-Benz

This car, only one of two ever made, was sold at a secret ‘invitation-only’ auction at the Museum on May 5^th, 2022. The bidders were hand-picked Mercedes-Benz. The winner is a client represented by British expert and dealer Simon Kidston. The latter had lobbied the Mercedes-Benz board for 18 months to consider selling the car.

The car in question is a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Coupé that had been kept in storage for most of its life. At the time of sale, it showed 6,045 km on the odometer. Though it was never raced, it was used for practice. It is powered by a 302 horsepower 3.0-litre straight-eight-cylinder engine.

The previous sales record for the sale of a car is believed to have stood at $78 million in a private sale of a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO which took place in 2018. The SLR sold for almost twice as much.

Commenting on the record transaction, Kidston said: “If you had asked classic car experts and top collectors over the past half a century to name the most desirable car in the world, there’s a good chance that they would have come up with the same model: the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR. It’s a combination of exotic engineering, all-conquering racing history, the power of the three-pointed star on its nose, and the fact that one had never, ever been sold. Many collectors had tried, but all had failed.

Finally, all monies will be used by Mercedes-Benz to set up a charitable fund for young people.