Tag Archives: mercedes-benz

280SE 3.5 Cabriolet

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1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5 Cabriolet

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | March 2024

Photo – Bring a Trailer

This is among the finest classic Mercedes-Benz products you can buy. It’s also among the classiest. The W111 chassis was designed by Friedrich Geiger and is among three generation of Benzes that fall under the “fintail” category, even though these late coupe/cabriolet variants don’t really have tail fins.

The two-doors came a few years after the sedans and initially launched as the 220SE in 1961. A displacement increase in 1965 brought the 250SE to market, followed by the 2.8-liter 280SE in 1967. All of these cars had straight-six engines. Then, in 1969, Mercedes launched the unnecessarily confusingly named 280SE 3.5, which had a 3.5-liter V8 that made 197 horsepower.

Coupes and convertibles were offered with the V8, and just 1,232 examples of the cabriolet were sold. They have been six-figure cars for some time and continue to creep up. This silver-over-blue example has a little time left to bid, and you can do so here.

CLK GTR GT1

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1997 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR GT1

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | March 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This is, ostensibly, the racing variant of Mercedes’ C208 CLK-Class. Except that the true racing variant of the C208 was the CLK DTM. The GTR was an entirely different animal, sharing just the “CLK” name and a loose interpretation of the front grille and headlights. The CLK GTR was so extreme that it had to be homologated as its own thing, of which 20 road-going coupes and six roadsters were built. They were the most expensive new cars in the world when they were sold in the late ’90s/early ’00s.

The racing versions were pretty special as well. Initially campaigned in the 1997 FIA GT Championship, the cars proved somewhat successful and were replaced by the CLK LM by the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans and later by the doomed CLR for 1999.

Power is provided by a 6.0-liter V12 that made 600 horsepower, and the competition history for this chassis (004) includes:

  • 1997 FIA GT 4 Hours of Nurburgring – 1st (with Bernd Schneider and Klaus Ludwig)
  • 1997 FIA GT 4 Hours of Spa – 2nd (with Schneider and Alexander Wurz)
  • 1997 FIA GT 1000km Suzuka – 7th (with Schneider, Wurz, and Aguri Suzuki)
  • 1997 FIA GT 3 Hours of Sebring – 1st (with Schneider and Ludwig)

It was sold by Mercedes-Benz to its current and only private owner in 2015. It’s a pretty big deal from a golden era of GT racing – this car competed against McLaren F1 GTRs and Porsche 911 GT1s, etc. The action closes on this one in two days. Find out more here.

McLaren MP4/21

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2006 McLaren-Mercedes MP4/21

Offered by Bonhams | Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. | November 25, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

The 2006 Formula One season was a classic Fernando Alonso/Michael Schumacher dogfight, with Alonso coming out on top. Behind Ferrari and Renault was McLaren, and this was their car for that year. Kimi Raikkonen was in one car, while Pedro de la Rosa replaced Juan Pablo Montoya in the other car midway through the season.

It was an Adrian Newey design and was powered by a Mercedes-Benz 2.4-liter V8 good for 750 horsepower. The competition history for this chassis, MP4/21-2, includes:

  • 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix – 3rd (with Kimi Raikkonen)
  • 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix – 22nd, DNF (with Raikkonen)
  • 2006 Australian Grand Prix – 2nd (with Raikkonen)
  • 2006 San Marino Grand Prix – 5th (with Raikkonen)
  • 2006 European Grand Prix at Nurburgring – 4th (with Raikkonen)
  • 2006 Spanish Grand Prix – 5th (with Raikkonen)
  • 2006 Monaco Grand Prix – 20th, DNF (with Raikkonen)
  • 2006 French Grand Prix – 5th (with Raikkonen)

McLaren restored the car before selling it off, and it hasn’t been used since. The pre-sale estimate is $2,500,000-$3,500,000. Click here for more info.

Mercedes W04 F1

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2013 Mercedes-AMG W04

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Las Vegas, Nevada | November 17, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Mercedes-Benz took quite the hiatus from Formula One, departing in 1955 after murdering a bunch of spectators. They returned as an engine supplier in the 1990s, but didn’t come back with a full team effort until the 2010 season, a year after purchasing reigning champions Brawn GP.

After three somewhat disappointing seasons, they showed up in 2013 with this, the W04 that was to be fielded by drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. It would take them to second in the constructors championship, bettering the fifth they achieved the year prior. It was clear they were onto something, as the following year they would win the championship… and then keep doing so year after year after that.

The W04 is powered by a 2.4-liter V8 with a KERS system that can produce 750 horsepower (or 830 with the KERS enabled). All while revving to a cool 18,000 rpm. This was the last season of F1 to feature V8 engines. The race history for this chassis, #F1W04-04 includes:

  • 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix – 3rd (with Lewis Hamilton)
  • 2013 Chinese Grand Prix – 3rd (with Hamilton)
  • 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix – 1st (with Hamilton)
  • 2013 Belgian Grand Prix – 3rd (with Hamilton)

This chassis was actually used in 14 races that year. It has somehow escaped Mercedes’ hands and has a pre-sale estimate of $10,000,000-$15,000,000. Click here for more info.

C124 Gullwing

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1989 Boschert B300

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Munich, Germany | November 25, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Mercedes-Benz W124 was the first generation of Merc marketed as the E-Class. The C124 was the coupe version, and that’s what this car here is based on. Hartmut Boschert founded his tuning company in the 1980s and began modifying Benzes thereafter.

In 1989, he took a 300CE coupe and grafted an R129 SL-Class front end onto it. He also added gullwing doors – a Mercedes legacy. R129 seats also came along, and the standard 300CE 3.0-liter inline-six was fitted with two turbochargers to make 283 horsepower.

The plan was to make 300 of these after it debuted at the 1989 Frankfurt International Motor Show. But that never happened, and this was the only one built. It’s been with it’s current owner for almost 20 years and now has an estimate of $265,000-$320,000. More info can be found here.

AMG GT Project One

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2022 Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series Project One Edition

Offered by Bonhams | Knokke-Heist, Belgium | October 8, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

The Mercedes-AMG Project One (or just the “ONE”) is a hypercar that has seemed to be in development forever. So while the lucky 275 folks who ordered one waited, Mercedes decided to try and keep them happy by offering them an excusive version of their getting-long-in-the-tooth AMG GT sports car.

But no base car here as the starting point was the top-tier Black Series. That means it is powered by a 720-horsepower, twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8. It has all of the aero bits that set Black Series cars apart, and, in Project One Edition spec, has a pretty awesome painted three-star motif that is excusive to this car.

Only 275 of these were built, and they were only offered to Project One orderers. More than a few have hit the market, and this one has an estimate of $425,000-$640,000. Click here for more info.

Mercedes 170H Convertible

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1938 Mercedes-Benz 170H Convertible Sedan

Offered by Bonhams | Brussels, Belgium | May 13, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Not a Volkswagen. But not all that different. Mercedes-Benz introduced the W23 130H in 1934. It was their smallest car to date. The related W28 170H debuted in 1936 and was produced as the rear-engined alternative to the front-engined 170 V.

The 170 models shared an engine: a 1.7-liter inline-four that was rated at about 37 horsepower. The 170H was produced until 1939, with just 1,507 built – only 250 of which were made in 1938. Low demand was due mostly to the fact that it cost more than the 170 V but had less room and was altogether a worse car.

The restoration on this convertible version was completed in 2020. These rear-engined Mercs are a rare sight, and this one is about as good as they come. The estimate is $66,000-$100,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $67,054.

SLR McLaren 722 S

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2009 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 S Roadster

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | December 16, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

The SLR McLaren was Mercedes-Benz’s halo car produced between 2004 and 2009. It was actually developed in conjunction with McLaren, and various variants were produced after the initial coupe. These included the 722, a high-performance coupe, the Roadster, a drop-top version of the base coupe, and this, the 722 S Roadster, the hot convertible.

It debuted in Frankfurt in 2007, and just 150 were built. Power is provided by a supercharged 5.4-liter V8 that made 641 horsepower in 722 spec. Top speed for the roadster was a remarkable-for-a-convertible 208 mph.

This one-owner car has only covered about 60 miles since new. It’s finished in Sienna Pearl and features lightweight wheels, a revised suspension, and some design tweaks over the base car. The pre-sale estimate is $490,000-$735,000. These cars are still very expensive, which, frankly, I don’t quite understand. But anyway. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $854,283.

Coachbuilt 230SL

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1964 Mercedes-Benz 230SL Coupe Speciale by Pininfarina

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 19-20, 2022

Photo – Gooding & Company

The W113 was Mercedes-Benz‘s first real SL class, in the terms we think of it today. It was the “replacement” for the 300SL and 190SL, and three models were offered between 1963 and 1971. There was the initial 230SL, which was sold from 1963 through 1966. It was replaced by the short-lived 250SL and then by the 280SL.

The 230SL was powered by a fuel-injected 2.3-liter inline-six rated at 148 horsepower. The W113 was sold with a removable hardtop, which earned the cars the nickname “Pagoda.” They all had that removable hardtop. Except this one.

Pininfarina wanted to design a true coupe version of the car, and Mercedes sent them a 230SL to do just that. Tom Tjaarda styled it. The design is interesting… from the fenders on back. The front end is a little droopy. There were 19,831 230SLs built, and only one coupe. The pre-sale estimate is “in excess of $1,000,000.” Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $1,215,000.

Uhlenhaut Coupe

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1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe

Sold by RM Sotheby’s | Stuttgart, Germany | May 5, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

We rarely feature a car after it sells, but this one sort of snuck up on everybody. The Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart owned both examples of the “Uhlenhaut” coupe until recently, when they decided to part with one of the two. Why? Who knows. Maybe Daimler is cash-strapped. It’s kind of a weird situation when a well-funded museum decides to do a quick cash grab for a priceless piece of automotive history. Supposedly there were conditions on this private auction, like that the new owner isn’t allowed to re-sell it.

Anyway, a little history. This is not a 300SL Gullwing coupe. The 300 SLR was a full-fendered open-cockpit racing car based on the W196 Formula One car. The SLR was the company’s entry into the World Sportscar Championship. The cars won the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio before the program was quickly shuttered after the 1955 Le Mans disaster.

Meanwhile, motorsport chief Rudolf Uhlenhaut designed a road-going coupe version of the SLR, later dubbed the Uhlhenhaut coupes. Two were built. The engine was a 3.0-liter straight-eight that made about 305 horsepower. This coupe could do 180 mph. In 1955.

This one was the second one built and has been owned by Mercedes-Benz since new. It was restored in the 1980s and has been displayed and demonstrated on various occasions over the years. So how did it fare?

Sold: $142,000,000.