Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe sells at auction for $143 million

An ultra-scarce Mercedes-Benz race auto sold for $143 million earlier this month, producing it the most pricey vehicle at any time bought.

RM Sotheby’s declared it auctioned off a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe for 135 million euros, or about $143 million. The sale smashed the previous file for the most high priced car marketed at auction by extra than $95 million and topped the $70 million document for a auto sold privately.

The winning bid was made by British motor vehicle collector, advisor and dealer Simon Kidston on behalf of an unnamed consumer. Kidston lobbied the Mercedes-Benz board for 18 months to take into account selling the vehicle.

The sale, to start with claimed by Hagerty Insider, took place May perhaps 5 in a secretive and really unconventional auction at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. Only picked collectors and Mercedes-Benz prospects were being invited to attend.

The 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe is a single of only two produced in 1955 and is regarded as a person of the most prized automobiles in automobile heritage. It was created by Mercedes’ race office and named soon after its chief engineer and designer, Rudolf Uhlenhaut.

The car or truck was centered on the company’s thriving W 196 R Grand Prix auto, which received two Environment Championships with driver Juan Manuel Fangio. The 300 SLR had a much larger, 3.-liter motor and was equipped to reach 180 mph, making it just one of the swiftest road-authorized vehicles at the time.

The Mercedes-Benz organization owned each of the 300 SLR cars, and the May 5 sale took many collectors by surprise.

“It’s acceptable to say that no person at any time imagined that this automobile would at any time be provided for sale, so for Mercedes-Benz to check with RM Sotheby’s to conduct the auction was an complete honor,” said Peter Wallman, RM Sotheby’s chairman for the U.K. and EMEA.

Mercedes-Benz claimed it will donate the proceeds to generate a fund for scholarships and instructional exploration into the environment and decarbonization.

Prior to the sale, the most high-priced car or truck offered at auction was a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO that went for $48.5 million at RM Sotheby’s in 2018. A 1963 Ferrari GTO offered privately in 2018 for $70 million.