1956 Mercdes Benz 300SL Gullwing
SOLD $3,410,000 USD
Technical Specs
- Make Mercedes-Benz
- Model 300SL Gullwing
- Year 1956
- Odometer 56,600 km ( 500 km since restoration)
- Body Style 2-Door Coupé
- Transmission 4-Speed Manual
- Exterior Colour Silver Grey Metallic DB180
- Interior Tan Leather w/ Gabardine Summer Seats
Description
In 1956, the Mercedes-Benz factory in Stuttgart produced 311 hand-built 300SL Gullwings. This 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing is a European market car, originally delivered through the Mercedes-Benz distributor Mario Morescalchi in Rome, Italy. Based on the initial Mercedes-Benz 300SL racing cars of 1952 that utterly dominated European sports-car competition, including 1-2 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, plus another 1-2 victory in Mexico’s deadly Carrera Panamericana, the road-going 300SL “Gullwing” of 1954-57 was never meant to be. That is, until famed New York automobile importer Max Hoffman successfully lobbied the Daimler-Benz board of directors to authorize limited production. Introduced at the February 1954 New York International Motor Sports Show alongside the touring-oriented 190SL, the glamorous 300SL was mostly hand-built and immediately recognized as an object of automotive desire for the world’s business, entertainment and social luminaries.
Today, the unforgettable 300SL ranks among the most collectible and valuable of all postwar sports cars. Development and engineering of the roadgoing 300SL fills many excellent and authoritative volumes. The 300SL’s features, engineering and immense performance remain advanced and relevant. Featuring an ultra-lightweight spaceframe chassis, the 300SL’s highlights seem modern even today, including direct fuel injection, a 3.0-liter SOHC inline 6-cylinder powerplant, dry-sump engine lubrication, fully independent suspension and, of course, upward-opening “Gullwing” doors. Most of these brilliant and potent performers carry fascinating provenance and this stellar example from 1956 is certainly no exception. Order #823298 left the factory on October 30, 1956. It was finished in DB180 Silver Metallic Gray over a Blue 333 leather interior, and featured a Becker-Mexico radio, Hirchmann antenna and an outside mirror. It ended up in Pennsylvania by at least 1993 and was in the collection of Roger S. Gallet by 1995. Gallet owned many classic cars, including a 1962 Mercedes-Benz 300SL roadster that he bought in 1981.
The current owner acquired this Gullwing from Gallet’s estate in 2020 and brought it back to 300SL restorer Coachwerks in Victoria, BC, Canada. Overall, the Gullwing was in very good condition but had obviously been unused for several years. Over the past 3 years Coachwerks completely disassembled and stripped down the body, chassis, engine and all mechanical components to perform a nut-and-bolt, frame-off, concours-quality restoration. Every mechanical component has been restored or replaced. This Gullwing is in better-than-new condition and there is an extensive file documenting the restoration.
The Mercedes-Benz Classic Centre in Long Beach, CA, has verified this 300SL retains its matching-numbers body, engine, transmission, rear axle, a front spindle and the steering box. It is presented in the correct DB 180 Silver Gray Metallic and trimmed with a natural leather interior and two sets of seats; green cloth inserts and full leather. It rides on Rudge wheels, comes with fitted luggage and is documented by over 3,000 restoration photos and all invoices.
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