by The 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR supercar has set a new record for car value. It was sold for a staggering $142 million at a closed auction at the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart, and Topgir managed to take photos of this car at the time.
For reference: until then, the most expensive car in the world was considered the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost 1907 valued at $75 million, and before that – the Ferrari 250 GTO 1962, sold for $70 million.
Only two Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR coupes were produced. They were prepared for racing, but after a terrible accident at Le Mans in 1955, the German brand left motorsport for decades.
After that, the car was bought by its creator – engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut. He used the sports car as an everyday vehicle. After his death, the coupe ended up in the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart.
The car is a racing version of the iconic Mercedes 300SL Gullwing with a more aerodynamic body and a 3.0-liter inline-eight engine with 310 hp. With a 5-speed manual transmission, it reaches 290 km/h, which is very impressive for 1955.
