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The 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe is a prototype race car built for the 1956 season.
RM Sotheby’s
It obliterated the previous record for the priciest car ever auctioned off by around $95 million.
Kidston Motor Cars
The previous record holder was a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO that sold for around $48 million in 2018, according to auction house RM Sotheby’s, which was involved in both sales.
Kidston Motor Cars
The coupe also ranks in the top 10 most expensive items ever sold at auction, RM Sotheby’s said.
Kidston Motor Cars
Mercedes-Benz sold the 300 SLR during an invite-only auction on May 5 at its museum in Stuttgart, Germany.
Kidston Motor Cars
It sold to classic-car dealer Simon Kidston, who placed the winning bid on behalf of an anonymous buyer.
Kidston Motor Cars
In part, the 300 SLR is so valuable because Mercedes built just two of them.
Kidston Motor Cars
To be fair, it’s also gorgeous.
RM Sotheby’s
The coupe was never raced, and instead was used by Rudolf Uhlenhaut, the head of Mercedes’s testing department, as a company car.
Kidston Motor Cars
The eight-cylinder race car was rated at roughly 300 horsepower.
Kidston Motor Cars
It had a top speed of 180 mph, making it one of the fastest road-legal vehicles of its time, according to RM Sotheby’s.
RM Sotheby’s
The 300 SLR Coupe was developed as a hardtop version of Mercedes’s successful open-top 300 SLR race car.
RM Sotheby’s
Both SLR Coupes have been in Mercedes-Benz’s private collection since new.
Kidston Motor Cars
The one sold — nicknamed “Red” for its red interior — only shows a little over 6,000 kilometers on the odometer.
Kidston Motor Cars
Its sibling, “Blue,” will remain on display at the Mercedes-Benz Museum.
RM Sotheby’s
Why would Mercedes-Benz part with such a valuable car and such an iconic piece of its history?
Kidston Motor Cars
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