Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut
135 million euros This record price obtained just one year ago by the 1955 coupé remains unchallenged. Sold at auction to a private collector to establish the Mercedes-Benz Fund, it is the most valuable car of all time.
An awe-inspiring sale, secretly orchestrated in Germany by RM Sotheby’s at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart in May 2022, for a socially responsible project : study and research scholarships for young people in the field of environmental sciences and decarbonization.
Named after designer and engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut, the sports car was one of 1,100 cars comprising the Mercedes-Benz collection since the invention of the automobile in 1886, a collection which in fact contains a second example of this prototype. The car boasts outstanding performance, an 8-cylinder in-line engine, technology worthy of racing models, and very distinctive gullwings.
With its Silver Arrow livery, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut dethrones the Ferrari 250 GTO, which sold for 70 million euros in 2018. To compete with the Jaguar Type D at Le Mans in 1955, the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut was treated to a highly innovative aerodynamic brake. Due to the car’s width, the spoiler was raised in each braking phase. In that year, it was driven by Fangio and Moss, enabling Mercedes to claim a first title in the Sportscar category.
The car which was to become an icon was then able to attain a top speed of 290 km/hr. A remarkable feat almost seven decades ago. n
