1955 Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing $2,530,000!

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing
Sold for $2,530,000 Including Commission
RM Auction, Monterey, CA 2014
Chassis no. 198.040.5500368
Engine no. 198.980.5500388
Body no. 198.040.5500356
215 hp (DIN), 240 hp (SAE), 2,992 cc SOHC six-cylinder engine with Bosch mechanical fuel injection, four-speed manual transmission, coil-spring independent front suspension, coil-spring and swing axle rear suspension, and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes. Wheelbase: 94.5 in.
•An exceptional “driver’s Gullwing”
•Factory Rudge wheels, belly pans, and Becker Mexico radio
•Complete original tool set, books, and jack
•Always faithfully maintained and never restored
THE LEGENDARY GULLWING
Mercedes-Benz’s 300SL claimed 2nd in the Mille Miglia, 1-2-3 in the Berne, Switzerland, Sports Car Race, 1st and 2nd at Le Mans, 1-2-3-4 at the Nürburgring, and 1st and 2nd at La Carrera Panamericana. Yet more was to be desired. From his Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Park Avenue showroom, the company’s U.S. distributor, Max Hoffman, said that there was a market in America for a fast, sensual Mercedes-Benz coupe, and a production version of the racing 300 SL, complete with the fascinating, now legendary, “gullwing” doors, necessitated by the unusual, tall “birdcage” frame design, would be it.
Fuel injection replaced the race car’s carburetors, and the Bosch mechanical unit would be the first for a production car. The 11 prototype W194s, including the so-called “Hobel,” were made in all-alloy. The new Karl Wilfert-designed body was largely steel, retaining aluminum doors, hood, and trunk lids, and included bumpers (with over-riders for U.S.-spec cars but optional for the rest of the world) and numerous creature comforts, as well as a tilt-wheel for ease of entry and a sumptuous interior, which is a prerequisite for road use.
The “SL” moniker (translated to English as Sport Light) reflected the pioneering use of a welded, tubular-steel, ultra-light frame construction that weighed only 182 pounds. The car also featured a fully independent suspension in addition to its fuel-injected, 3.0-liter (2,996 cubic centimeter), OHC straight-six with dry-sump lubrication, and the motor was inclined to the side in order to reduce the height of the front end. The power, rated at 240 brake horsepower at 6,100 rpm (SAE) and 215 brake horsepower at 5,800 rpm (DIN), with the factory-optional or dealer-installed “sport” camshaft, was delivered through a four-speed manual gearbox. A 161-mph top speed and 0–60 acceleration of approximately eight seconds, depending on the rear-end ratio selected from five options, made the 300 SL the fastest production automobile of its time.
Appropriate for an automobile that Max Hoffman had almost single-handedly willed into being, the production 300 SL made its debut in the United States, not in Germany, which was a Mercedes first. More than 1,000 of the 1,400 cars produced between 1954 and early 1957 where delivered through Hoffman, to whose showrooms the rich and famous flocked. The 300 SL was as much a status symbol in its time as it is today, as it was favored by everyone from Hollywood stars to racing legends to genuine royalty.
The 300 SL was also raced and piloted by the top drivers of the day, such as John Fitch, Olivier Gendebien, Paul O’Shea, Prince Metternich, and, of course, Sir Stirling Moss, who holds the “forever” course record for his famous Mille Miglia finish in 1955. It all added to the romance of a car that seemed destined to become a legend the moment production began. It had all of the right ingredients: incredible exclusivity, incredible speed, and an incredible price. Any red-blooded human who had ever pushed a clutch pedal would’ve sold his or her soul for the feeling of 161 mph behind the wheel. “A thoroughbred in every sense of the word,” advertising boasted, “and a car which will be recognized by all enthusiasts as the ‘last word’ in sporting automobiles; a car which puts indescribable pleasure into driving!”
CHASSIS 198.040.5500368
The Gull Wing Group Register records chassis number 198.040.550368 as having been completed on May 31, 1955, and delivered as a special order on July 6, 1955, by Max Hoffman’s distributors in New York. The car was originally finished, as it is today, in the elegantly subtle color of Ivory (DB 608), with an interior in Red (1079) leather, and it was equipped with one of the most desirable options, chrome Rudge knock-off wheels.
The original owner was reportedly Buddy Champlin, the son of Oklahoma oil baron H.H. Champlin. The Champlin family’s other interests in the Sooner State included ownership of the First National Bank of Enid, of which Buddy Champlin would serve as president and CEO.
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Robert Myrick Photography