Ultra-rare 1955 Mercedes 300 SLR Coupe
Ultra-rare 1955 Mercedes 300 SLR Coupe
The most expensive car ever sold.
An ultra-rare Mercedes 300 SLR Coupe sold for $142 million at an invite-only auction earlier this month and became the most expensive car ever sold. It trounced the previous record holder – a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO that sold for approximately $48 million in 2018. Classic car dealer Simon Kidston placed the winning bid on behalf of an anonymous buyer. Only two 300 SLRs exist. The one sold is nicknamed “Red” because of its red interior. The other, “Blue”, is on display at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany.
The car was originally designated "SL-R" (for Sport Leicht-Rennen – Sport Light-Racing) and later condensed to "SLR". The 300 SLR dominated the 1955 World Sportscar Championship before a spectacular crash and fire at Le Mans ended its reign. Two of nine 300 SLR coupes were converted to legal road cars. One became the personal car of Mercedes design chief Rudolf Uhlenhaut, hence the designation Uhlenhaut Coupé. Capable of reaching speeds of 180 mph, the Uhlenhaut Coupé was the fastest road legal car in the world at the time.
