|
Mercedes-Benz is quite excellent in sharing their impressive history: both from their Museum in Stuttgart, and loaning out vehicles for special events. I have been fortunate to see (and hear!) these cars in motion on several occasions. The above photo from my film camera (remember those?) was taken by your author about 20 years ago at Pebble Beach.
You've got to imagine the scene at Pebble Beach with the gentry picnicing on the lawn and the pre-war luxury cars purring past; all set to the gentle tide and classical music. Then they start the 300SLR up.... The car is a real monster. Uhlenhaut used this car on the road and they say they could hear him 5km away and I believe it! It idled at about 2,000rpm, and it must have really long gearing because whoever was driving it was having trouble keeping it under 25mph through the crowds. People were literally leaping out of the way. It made quite an impression to say the least.
That all said, I don't think Mercedes-Benz let go the most valuable of their Crown Jewels. I think the '722' SLR would have sold for more. The #21 W194 300SL Gullwing piloted by Hermann Lang and Fritz Riess that won the 1952 Le Mans - Mercedes first post-war outright victory in the world's most important endurance race - might even be worth more. There is also the W194 Gullwing that won the 1952 Carrera Panamericana, piloted by Karl Kling and Hans Klenk. That car hit a buzzard at 135mph, smashing the windscreen and bloodying Klenk. At the end of the stage 'Buzzard Bars' were installed over the windshield, making for an iconic racing image for Mercedes. I'm not sure which of these cars would bring more in an auction - it can depend on who is in the room - but they could be '9-figure' cars in today's market.
What else could be worth more than $100M?
Does the Uhlenhaut Coupe result pull up the value of other collector cars? This is the question that serious collectors will be asking. I think it does. Some other really important cars are looking relatively cheap right now.
A Ferrari 250 GTO has long been one of the most valuable motorcars in the world. Relative to each other, the value of the 36 cars produced is influenced by race history and originality, among other things. #3413GT sold for $48.4M in 2018. There have been private sales that are rumoured to have been $70M. The 'best of the best' GTO could exceed $100M if auctioned today.
There were four Bugatti Type 57 Atlantics constructed; one is lost, one was reconstructed from a train wreck, and two originals survive: One with Ralph Lauren and the other with Peter Mullin. Mullin's car, displayed in his museum in Oxnard, CA was sold for and estimated $40M in 2010, at the time thought to be the world's most expensive automobile.
The lost Atlantic was Jean Bugatti's personal car, and the only one that came out of the factory with a supercharged engine. Should it be found, it would likely be the most valuable of the lot. Interestingly, as long as the car was complete, it wouldn't matter what the condition was. Even a monumental 5,000 hour restoration would be inconsequential to the cars value. I would say either of the original cars would now sell for 9-Figures.
The 300 SLR wasn't based on the W154 300SL Gullwing, but rather the W196 Grand Prix car. These cars were most famously driven by Juan Manuel Fangio, and his understudy - the young Sterling Moss. They won 9 of 12 Grand Prix races in 1954 on their way to winning the 1954 and 1955 World Championships. 14 were made and 10 survive. From what I can gather from the internet, there is one W196 Mercedes Grand Prix car in private hands. Bonhams sold this ex-Fangio W196 German and Swiss Grand Prix winner for $29.6M in 2013. It has to be over $100M now.
When Ferdinand Porsche was finally able to go out on his own, creating the Porsche engineering office in 1931, one one of his first projects was a clean-sheet racing car. The P-Wagon, where 'P' was for Porsche. This design was sold to Auto Union and became the dominant racing car of the mid 1930's. About 20 of these cars were built in series A through D. Most of these cars were hidden, scrapped, or broken up during or after WWII. Presently it is believed that only one Type C and three Type D cars, and a Type C/D hill climbing car remain. One of the 'Type D' cars was listed for sale at Christies in 2007, with an estimate of 8.8-12M Euros. It was pulled at the last moment over a discrepancy with the vehicle's history. Later it was sold to Audi for an undisclosed sum.
Which Grand Prix car is worth more; a pre-war Hans Stuck Auto Union Type D or the post-war Fangio Mercedes-Benz W196? What are these cars worth relative to the '722' SLR and Uhlenhaut Coupe. How does the technically less sophisticated, but arguably more historically important W194 300SL, compare? Where do the remaining pre-war Mercedes 'Silver Arrows' fit in?
All of this is a delightfully pointless exercise for all but a room full of the world's richest collectors. But a rising tide lifts all boats, and this is good news for those of us in the hobby. I'm just happy to have had the opportunity to see these cars in the flesh. Part of the conditions of sale from Mercedes-Benz are that the new owner continue to display the Uhlenhaut Coupe, so look for it at the usual venues. Make sure you are nearby when they fire it up!
| 
