Photo: Twitter/@Rinoire
If someone asked you what you thought was the most valuable car in the world, the 1962 Ferrari 250 GT naturally comes to mind. After all, it's the most expensive car ever sold at an auction. But rumor has it that the 250 GT's $70 million tag price record has just been broken. The folks over at Motorious say a reliable source tipped them that Mercedes sold its most valuable car - Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR 'Uhlenhaut Coupe.'
While unconfirmed, a reliable source told Motorious that the 'reportedly' most valuable car sold for charity for a whopping 130 million Euros ($136.8 million).
IMSA (International Motor Sports Association) wrote on Wednesday, "the record for the most expensive car ever sold is believed to have been smashed, without a Ferrari in sight."
The original 300 SLR bagged every title back in 1955 from Mille Miglia to Targa Florio, with the legendary Sir Stirling Moss behind the wheel, helping Mercedes-Benz clinch the Worlds Sportscar Championship that year. For the 1956 season, Daimler-Benz made two road-legal examples of the 300 SLR – the 300 SLR Coupe, later earning the title '300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe.'
Mercedes vowed never to sell the precious 300 SLR 'Uhlenhaut Coupé,' but according to the source, the unconfirmed sale went down in a secret auction.
The 1955 300 SLR's winning streak could have continued if the coupe version developed by Daimler-Benz had gone for the 1956 season. Unfortunately, it never went racing again after one of the worst motorsport accidents in history at Le Mans, where a major crash killed driver Pierre Levegh and 83 spectators, injuring 180 people.
The Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Coupe got the name 'Uhlenhaut Coupe,' after the head of the testing department, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, took in one of the two completed vehicles as a company car. There is a story that Uhlenhaut, being late for a meeting, stormed the autobahn from Munich to Stuttgart, reaching his destination in little over an hour. Even today, it's a two hour and a half drive.
While it only appears during special racing events, those who've been behind the wheel of the Uhlenhaut Coupe say it's gotten much better than the original 300 SLR over the years.
At the time of publishing this article, Mercedes-Benz is yet to confirm the 'alleged' sale. Since this is a developing story with the possibility of 'informed speculation,' some details might be imprecise.
Update: Mercedes-Benz representatives answered our request and told us that "as you can imagine, we regularly receive private purchase requests for vehicles from our collection. The market for classic cars is constantly in motion and so there is always a lot of rumors," adding that they "do not participate in such speculations."
IMSA (International Motor Sports Association) wrote on Wednesday, "the record for the most expensive car ever sold is believed to have been smashed, without a Ferrari in sight."
The original 300 SLR bagged every title back in 1955 from Mille Miglia to Targa Florio, with the legendary Sir Stirling Moss behind the wheel, helping Mercedes-Benz clinch the Worlds Sportscar Championship that year. For the 1956 season, Daimler-Benz made two road-legal examples of the 300 SLR – the 300 SLR Coupe, later earning the title '300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe.'
Mercedes vowed never to sell the precious 300 SLR 'Uhlenhaut Coupé,' but according to the source, the unconfirmed sale went down in a secret auction.
The 1955 300 SLR's winning streak could have continued if the coupe version developed by Daimler-Benz had gone for the 1956 season. Unfortunately, it never went racing again after one of the worst motorsport accidents in history at Le Mans, where a major crash killed driver Pierre Levegh and 83 spectators, injuring 180 people.
The Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Coupe got the name 'Uhlenhaut Coupe,' after the head of the testing department, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, took in one of the two completed vehicles as a company car. There is a story that Uhlenhaut, being late for a meeting, stormed the autobahn from Munich to Stuttgart, reaching his destination in little over an hour. Even today, it's a two hour and a half drive.
While it only appears during special racing events, those who've been behind the wheel of the Uhlenhaut Coupe say it's gotten much better than the original 300 SLR over the years.
At the time of publishing this article, Mercedes-Benz is yet to confirm the 'alleged' sale. Since this is a developing story with the possibility of 'informed speculation,' some details might be imprecise.
Update: Mercedes-Benz representatives answered our request and told us that "as you can imagine, we regularly receive private purchase requests for vehicles from our collection. The market for classic cars is constantly in motion and so there is always a lot of rumors," adding that they "do not participate in such speculations."
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