1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Has Become the World’s Most Expensive Car

Dubbed as “The Mona Lisa of cars”

The 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR has officially become the most expensive car globally. An unknown billionaire has offered AU$ 203 million for one of only two of these beauties. The car brand has confirmed that the auction took place on May 5^th, 2022, at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. Only a small group of collectors and fans of the brand were allowed to attend the historic event.

The person who paid such a hefty amount for the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR hasn’t been revealed yet. The person is a popular figure in Britain’s automotive industry and a long-standing collector. It is likely the person is Ineos CEO, Jim Ratcliffe. He has personal connections to Mercedes-Benz motorsport and an impressive private car collection.

The money spent on the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR has surpassed the previous record set by a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO. It was sold for AU$ 70 million in 2018 at an auction in California. British-American broker Sotheby’s says that the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR has joined the list of top 10 most expensive items ever sold at an auction.

Marcus Breitschwerdt – the Head of Mercedes-Benz Heritage, stated, “The buyer has agreed that the [car] will remain accessible for public display on special occasions. Meanwhile, the second original 300 SLR Coupe remains in company ownership and will continue to be displayed at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.”

The 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR was a road-legal variant of the 300 SLR race car. It is best known for a catastrophic accident at Le Mans which led to the deaths of 83 spectators. It has a 3.0-liter straight-eight petrol engine which sends 228kW/317Nm to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual transmission. The car can go from 0-100km/h in just 7.7 seconds and has a verified top speed of 290km/h. It was the fastest road-registrable vehicle at the time of its release.

Though many examples of 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR were planned for customer sale, the plans changed after the accident as the project was cancelled, and Mercedes-Benz decided to exit from motorsport. So, only two examples were built, and they were both kept in the Mercedes-Benz private collection until the recent auction. The money raised from the auction will be used to fund environmental education and research scholarships.