[ad_1]
A uncommon Mercedes-Benz racing automotive referred to as the Mona Lisa of automobiles has been bought by the corporate for a document £115 million.
The 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé, considered one of solely two of its variety, is a sister automotive to racing legend Sir Stirling Moss’s record-breaking open cockpit 300 SLR, which coated 992 miles in ten hours, seven minutes and 48 seconds on public roads.
The automobile was bought to a personal collector, the traditional automotive public sale firm RM Sotheby’s mentioned in a press release, fetching €135 million (£114 milion), nearly triple the earlier document public sale value for a automotive, which was set in 2018 by a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO that went for greater than $48 million (£37 million).
The invitation-only public sale occurred on Could 5 on the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. RM Sotheby’s mentioned the automobile’s excessive value positioned it within the “prime ten most precious objects ever bought at public sale in any gathering class”.
Its sale can be a reward for the persistence proven by the British skilled Simon Kidston, who had lobbied the German firm’s board for 18 months to think about promoting the automotive “that might by no means be bought”. Kidston’s bid of €135 million secured the automobile for an unnamed collector.
“It had at all times been assumed that Mercedes would by no means half with one of many crown jewels of its firm assortment, thought of the Mona Lisa of automobiles due to its rarity, racing pedigree, magnificence and unavailability,” Kidston mentioned.
The 300 SLR Coupé, recognisable for its uncommon strains and butterfly doorways, was modelled on the W196 R Grand Prix race automotive, which gained two Components 1 world championships in 1954 and 1955 with the Argentinian Juan Manuel Fangio within the driver’s seat.
Named after its creator and chief engineer, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, the automobile was a growth of the open two-seat sports-racing automotive constructed by Mercedes for the 1955 season and pushed by Grand Prix greats similar to Moss, Fangio and Peter Collins.
Moss’s document drive on the 1955 Mille Miglia has been described as one of many best feats of motor racing, when he and his navigator Denis Jenkinson gained the 1,000-mile endurance race in a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, averaging 99mph.
Kidston mentioned that though the auctioned Coupé’s design shares styling cues with the well-known 300 SL “Gullwing” highway automotive there was “nearly no concession to practicality, as none had been ever supposed to be bought to non-public purchasers”.
Neither 300 SLR Coupé was raced, although they had been used for observe.
A highway check collectively performed by British journal Autocar and the Swiss periodical Automobil Revue in 1956 mentioned: “Keep in mind that this automotive isn’t on the market, and on this kind by no means will likely be: it’s a racing automotive tailored for highway use with sure experimental aims in view . . . It needs to be mastered like a mettlesome horse.”
Commenting on the transaction, Kidston mentioned: “An extended-standing relationship with the Mercedes-Benz Museum helped, however even after 18 months of affected person lobbying we didn’t know if or how they’d think about letting the 300 SLR out of captivity till simply earlier than it occurred. For everybody concerned, and particularly the brand new proprietor whom we represented, this was a once-in-a-lifetime probability to purchase the Mona Lisa of automobiles.”
RM Sotheby’s mentioned the proceeds from the public sale can be used to determine a worldwide Mercedes-Benz Fund that might fund environmental science and decarbonisation analysis.
[ad_2]
Source link