EVER WONDERED WHAT A R105MIL '56 MERCEDES-BENZ 300 SL 'ALLOY' GULLWING LOOKS LIKE? WONDER NO MORE.
Don’t let the images fool you, this 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL “Alloy” Gullwing may look like a scrapper in desperate need of a full ground-up restoration, which it technically is, but even in this state it’s worth more than some impressive car collections. What you see here is the last unrestored “Alloy” Gullwing in existence, and that’s why when it goes under the hammer at an upcoming RM Sotheby’s auction, the clever people who assign values to things like this have agreed that it should sell for between $4,500,000 and $6,000,000, which at the far end translates to roughly R105,000,000. Yeah, that’s one hundred and five million Rand for a non-runner. Even in this state, the stunning photos from Patrick Ernzen manage to make the car look special. In fact, the pics are so cool that we decided to add this car to our theoretical bazillionaire-style car collection and we’d build a life-sized diorama with the same background to display the car. Even in this state, the car’s value is so high thanks to a proper provenance. Following the race-winning legacy of the W194 at Le Mans and the Carrera Panamericana, Mercedes-Benz set out to create a road-going version for enthusiasts who wanted a taste of that racing magic. Thanks to a strong nudge from New York importer Max Hoffman, the W198 - better known as the legendary 300 SL Gullwing - made its global debut at the 1954 International Motor Sports Show in New York. Interestingly, this was the first time a new Mercedes-Benz was shown outside of Germany before it was revealed at home. By 1955, the 300 SL was already an icon, but Mercedes’ chief engineer, Dr. Fritz Nallinger, had bigger plans. He envisioned a more hardcore, race-bred version aimed at privateers and weekend racers who were pushing their standard Gullwings to the limit. Nallinger got the green light for a special order run, giving birth to the “Leichtmetallausführung,” or Light Metal Version - a true competition spec 300 SL. This wasn’t just a lightweight shell; the Alloy Gullwing featured a beefier NSL engine, sports suspension, Rudge wheels, a Plexiglas rear window, and more. It also added a cool $1,307 to the price tag (a hefty sum in the '50s), and only 29 were ever built, making this car the unicorn of Gullwings. Chassis 198.043.5500872 was the 26th of those 29 cars, rolling off the Untertürkheim line on January 12, 1956.
It’s the only Alloy Gullwing finished in Schwarz, a smooth black paint job contrasted by a red leather interior and it was fully loaded with the NSL engine, Rudge wheels, a 3.42:1 rear axle, a factory windshield washer system and a litre of extra paint for touch-ups. On January 16th the car left the factory for Milan’s Saporiti dealership before landing in the hands of none other than Luigi Chinetti, the man who won Le Mans and imported Ferraris to North America. Rumour has it Chinetti snagged this car to see how it stacked up against his stable of prancing horses. He kept it for nearly two decades, eventually respraying it in silver but leaving the rest untouched. In 1976, Rudi Klein, an avid collector, crossed paths with Chinetti at the Daytona 500 and wanted the car, he put down a $3,000 deposit on the car, with the full sale price coming to a total of $30,000. After some delay, Klein finally took possession in early 1977 and the car was never driven or showed off. Over the years a few bits went missing, like the front bumpers, shift knob, tool kit, jack, spare wheel - but the important bits are there. Matching-numbers engine, gearbox, rear axle, and even the original bodywork, with the body number “26” stamped all over the place adds to the value. The only real battle scar? A dent in the rear, courtesy of Klein backing into it with a forklift. Yep, that happened. After nearly 50 years of seclusion, this Alloy Gullwing has finally emerged from its hiding spot. Although it’s appeared in 300 SL registries over the years, very few people have ever laid eyes on it. It’s one of those cars that’s been whispered about but never seen - until now. It shows less than 74,000 km on the ODO. It should be in showroom condition with that mileage, but it seems Klein knew a lot about cars, except how to store them.
Take a look at the YouTube video from a while back that shows off what one of these eye-wateringly expensive classic Gullwings can look like - we reckon whoever buys this will store display it in this condition to be ironic though. That's what we'd do if we had that level of F-you money: Arizona 2022 - 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Alloy Gullwing | RM Sotheby's
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