1955 Mercedes auctioned for record value for one car

The 1955 Mercedes Coupé 300 SLR Uhlenhaut was sold on May 5 at a confidential auction at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.

One mercedes 1955, of which there are only two copies, was auctioned in early May for €135 million ($143 million), nearly tripling the previous record for the sale of a car, RM Sotheby’s announced on Thursday.

The 1955 Mercedes Coupé 300 SLR Uhlenhaut was sold on May 5 at a confidential auction at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart (Germany), in cooperation between Sotheby’s subsidiary for luxury vehicles and the German automaker.

The previous record was a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold by the auction house for more than 48 million dollars (45.4 million euros). In addition, the Mercedes “300 SLR is among the 10 most expensive objects ever sold at auction”, celebrated RM Sotheby’s.

Oliver Barker, president of Sotheby’s Europe, said he felt “an absolute thrill to sell this masterpiece of design and engineering, which now stands on par with the greatest works of art ever sold”.

According to the AFP classification of works of art sold at auction in recent years, the absolute record is held by the painting “Salvator Mundi”, by Leonardo da Vinci, which sold in November 2017 for 450.3 million dollars in a Christie’s auction.

The previous record was a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold by the auction house for more than 48 million dollars (45.4 million euros). In addition, the Mercedes “300 SLR is among the 10 most expensive objects ever sold at auction”, celebrated RM Sotheby’s.

Oliver Barker, president of Sotheby’s Europe, said he felt “an absolute thrill to sell this masterpiece of design and engineering, which now stands on par with the greatest works of art ever sold”.

According to the AFP classification of works of art sold at auction in recent years, the absolute record is held by the painting “Salvator Mundi”, by Leonardo da Vinci, which sold in November 2017 for 450.3 million dollars in a Christie’s auction.

Then comes “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn,” Andy Warhol’s portrait of actress Marilyn Monroe, sold this month for $195 million also at Christie’s, which became the most expensive artwork of the 20th century sold at public auction.

In front of the luxurious vehicle are “Les Femmes d’Alger” by the Spaniard Pablo Picasso (179.4 million dollars in May 2015) and “Nu Deitado” by the Italian Amedeo Modigliani (170.4 million dollars in November 2015). ).

Described by RM Sotheby’s as “the most beautiful car in the world”, the vehicle, which belonged to Mercedes-Benz, was sold to a private collector.

The money from the sale “will be used to launch a Mercedes-Benz fund of training and research grants for young people in the area of ​​environmental sciences and decarbonisation”, says the statement from RM Sotheby’s.

The buyer has agreed to show the vehicle to the public on a few occasions. The other example will remain the property of Mercedes-Benz, which will put it on display in its museum in Stuttgart.

According to RM Sotheby’s and the specialized press, the Mercedes Coupé 300 SRL was designed by engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut, inspired by the W196 R Grand Prix, with which Juan Manuel Fangio won the Formula 1 championships in 1954 and 1955.

The history of the Model 300 SRL was shaken by a terrible accident in June 1955 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which killed driver Pierre Levegh and 83 spectators.

Source: AFP