The ultra-rare Mercedes-Benz becomes the world’s most expensive car ever after selling for a staggering £115million
AN ultra-rare Mercedes Benz has become the world’s most expensive car of all time.
The 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé, one of only two of its kind, sold for a staggering £115million earlier this month.
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The 1955 engine has been sold to a private collector, classic car auction company RM Sotheby’s announced yesterday.
It fetched nearly triple the previous record price for a vehicle set by a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, costing more than £38.5million.
The Mercedes went under the hammer on May 5 at an invitation-only event in Stuttgart.
It’s one of only two prototypes built by the luxury company and is widely regarded as one of the most valuable engines in automotive history.
Named after its creator and chief engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut, it is instantly recognizable thanks to its butterfly doors.
It is said to be modeled after the company’s W196 R Grand Prix racing car that won two Formula One world championships in 1954 and 1955 with Italian Juan Manuel Fangio in the driver’s seat.
And it’s the sister car to Stirling Moss’ Mille Miglia record-breaking open-cockpit 300 SLR, which covered 992 miles in 10 hours, 7 minutes and 48 seconds on public roads.
Not only is it the most expensive car ever sold privately, its colossal price puts it in the top 10 most valuable items ever sold at auction.
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The all-time record is held by Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi.
The painting, a striking image of Jesus credited as the male Mona Lisa, sold for a record-breaking US$450million (£342million) in 2017.
RM Sotheby’s said the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé will remain on public display for special occasions.
The proceeds of the auction will be used to set up a charitable fund for young people.
British car collector, consultant and dealer Simon Kidston, who awarded the bid on behalf of his client, said: “If you’d asked classic car experts and top collectors over the last half century to name the most desirable car in the world, chances are that they would have come up with the same model: the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR.
“It’s a combination of exotic engineering, all-conquering racing history, the power of the three-pointed star on its nose and the fact that none has ever been sold.
“Many collectors had tried, all had failed.
“That’s what the whole car world thought, but times are changing and if you don’t ask you’ll never know.
“A longstanding relationship with the Mercedes-Benz Museum helped, but even after 18 months of patient lobbying we didn’t know if or how they would consider releasing the 300 SLR from captivity until that happened.
“For everyone involved and especially for the new owner who we represented, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy the Mona Lisa of cars.”
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https://www.thesun.ie/motors/8825573/rare-mercedes-benz-most-expensive-car-ever/ The ultra-rare Mercedes-Benz becomes the world’s most expensive car ever after selling for a staggering £115million