A 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhout coupe sold for a record $143 million.
One of two 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhout Coupes sold for 135 million euros ($143 million at the current exchange rate), the highest price ever paid, Mercedes announced in a press release on Thursday.
The gullwing coupe had been in Mercedes' collection and was purchased by an unnamed collector at an auction held at the Mercedes-Benz Museum on May 5. The auction was conducted in cooperation with RM Sotheby's. The proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Mercedes-Benz Foundation, which will provide educational and research scholarships in the fields of environmental science and decarbonization, the automaker said.
The coupe was named after its creator, Rudolf Uhlenhout, who was the head of Mercedes' racing department just before and after World War II. Other coupes bearing his name include the W196 Grand Prix car and the 300SLR sports racer, famously won by Stirling Moss in the Mille Miglia.
The Uhlenhout Coupe was developed as a successor to Moss' roofless 300 SLR, powered by a bore-and-stroke version of the W196 straight eight and covered in streamlined bodywork that incorporated the gullwing doors that had already appeared on the 300SL road car by this time
However, the car was not built in the same way as the 300SL.
However, the Uhlenhout Coupe never had a chance to race. Shortly after its completion, Mercedes withdrew from racing after a disastrous crash at the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans. Aside from rally and privateer activities, Mercedes did not officially return to racing until the 1980s.
Two Uhlenhout Coupe prototypes were consigned to Mercedes' private classic collection, where the second prototype would remain. Markus Breitschwerdt, head of Mercedes-Benz Heritage, said in a statement that one of the conditions of the sale is that the car "remain accessible to the public and on special occasions." In other words, the Uhlenhout coupe, now in private ownership, may actually see the light of day more often than when it was owned by Mercedes.
