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• A rare Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing was auctioned online by Bring a Trailer.com
• The car was delivered to its first owner in Belgium in 1957.
• The iconic Mercedes-Benz was auctioned for $1.15-million.
The Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing is one of the most iconic cars the German automaker has ever made. Recently, a 1957 300SL Gullwing sold for $1.15 million on car auction website Bring a Trailer.
History
Wheels24 contributor Ferdi de Vos wrote that the two-seat sports car, produced from 1954 as a gull-wing coupe and roadster, was inspired by Max Hoffman, the authorised Mercedes-Benz importer in the United States at the time, who predicted a massive uptake of such a car in the United States.
In early 1954 the 300 SL made its world debut at the International Motor Sports Show in New York City. It sported a 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine and had a top speed of over 260km/h.
The production version of the SL (super light) that was shown in New York the production version used steel bodywork with aluminum panels for the bonnet, boot lid, door skins, rocker panels, and floorboards.
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The car
Auction site Bringatrailer.com says the model bears the chassis number 040.6500313. Its first home was in Belgium where its owner took delivery on March 7 1957 and up until 2003 the car only had two owners.
The car's second owner was based in the United Kingdom and in 2003 the car was bought back by its original owners and shipped across the Atlantic ocean to Vancouver, Canada in 2006.
The 300SL is arguably the company's most iconic car, and showcases car design like no other. The gull-wing doors have become famous in their own right and this particular example has been restored to what it looked like in 1957.
Once it was restored the owners entered the 2016 Salon Prive' Concours d'Elegance at Blenheim Palace and it was was driven in the event’s Tour d’Elegance through the Cotswolds in England.
It's a remarkable piece of machinery made all the more apparent by its $1.15-million auction price tag.
Compiled by Sean Parker
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