ULTRA RARE RED ON RED, 1 OF 75 STIRLING MOSS SLR COULD FETCH R50,000,000!
Some special edition cars are more memorable than others, and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss is one of them. The car was produced back in 2010 as a tribute to the legendary British racing driver Stirling Moss. The car is notable for its radical design and performance, blending the heritage of classic racing with modern supercar technology. Stirling Moss is celebrated not only for his racing achievements but also for his impact on the sport. His win in the Mille Miglia is considered one of the greatest drives in motorsport history. Moss’s commitment to fair play and his ability to compete at the highest level across different types of races made him a legend and his legacy is further honoured through a very special car - the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss - to ensure that his contributions to motorsport are remembered by future generations. The SLR Stirling Moss features a unique, speedster-style design with no roof or windshield, harking back to the open-cockpit racing cars of the 1950s. This is actually pretty cool but at the same time it’s terrible - we’ve seen a video or two of one being moved around elite car shows when rain joins the day - funny not funny. The special car’s design is a modern interpretation of the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, which makes perfect sense because that’s the car driven by Stirling Moss to victory in the Mille Miglia. The car is inspired by Stirling Moss's incredible career and his association with Mercedes-Benz, particularly his victory in the race where he set a record, which still stands today. In the gruelling 1,000-mile race across Italy Moss finished in a record time of 10 hours, 7 minutes, and 48 seconds. From there Moss competed in Formula One from 1951 to 1961 where he won 16 Grand Prix races and finished as the championship runner-up four times in 1955, ‘56, ‘57, and ‘58). In addition to his Formula One career, Moss excelled in various forms of racing, also winning prestigious events like the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Targa Florio.
Moss was known for his exceptional driving skill, sportsmanship, and versatility. He could drive a wide range of vehicles and was competitive in various motorsport disciplines. Moss was knighted in 2000 for his services to motor racing, becoming Sir Stirling Moss. The car in question was limited to 75 units, and the one that’s just popped up for sale over at RM Sotheby’s is in a very rare and hard to wrap your head around red on red spec, it’s A LOT unless you’re a real fan of the colour red. As per every other SLR SM, the car is powered by a supercharged 5.5-litre V8 engine rated at 478 kW with a stonking 820 Nm of torque. The car is lighter than the standard SLR McLaren due to the absence of a roof and windshield, which is also a problem as previously mentioned, but honestly, these cars will hardly ever see the light of day. There’s extensive use of carbon fibre, resulting in a dry weight of around 1,551 kg and that translates into the ability to hit 100 km/h in as little as 3.5 seconds and has a top speed of around 350 km/h. Apparently the aero makes it ok, but we can’t imagine kicking down the highway at that speed with no roof or real windscreen. When these cars launched they cost a little over €750,000 which was more than double the list price of the SLR that serves as the base for this special edition. For this auction at the Zoute Sale by Bonham’s, the car has been estimated to pull in between €1,500,000 and €2,500,000, which is between around R30,000,000 to more than R50,000,000.
Take a look at the YouTube video that shows off a few cool details and sounds of the limited number Mercedes SLR Stirling Moss, albeit a silver one and not a red one like you can buy at this here auction: 2x $5M SLR Stirling Moss arrive at Retromobile Paris! | TFJJ
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