1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupé
- Engine
- 3.0L SOHC inline-six with Bosch mechanical fuel injection, 240 bhp at 6,100 rpm
- Colour
- Silver (originally delivered in fire-engine red, later repainted silver)
A matching-numbers 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe, chassis 198.040.5500128, delivered new to Mercedes-Benz of Salzburg on 3 March 1955. Factory-fitted with desirable Rudge knock-off wheels and finished in DB 534 Fire Engine Red, it retains its original engine, coachwork, and identification plates. The car passed through several California and Ohio owners before joining the Academy of Art University's Classic Automobile Museum collection, where it was regularly serviced for roughly a decade.
Ownership
- 2021-10-01Auction saleSold US$1,410,000
- 1955-03-03 →Factory deliveryMercedes-Benz of Salzburgfull documentation
Original delivery point for the vehicle; car was configured with factory Rudge wheels and European-spec bumpers, finished in red over natural leather.
- → 2009Acquisition unknownEast Coast collectorpartial documentation
Car was properly maintained and serviced during this period by marque specialist Paul Russell and Company in Essex, Massachusetts.
- 2009 →Private saleAcademy of Art Universityfull documentation
Prominent institutional collection based in San Francisco; the car was regularly serviced by in-house staff over roughly a decade and formed part of a museum used for automotive design and restoration education. The institution is selling this car in exchange for a Ford GT.
- Date unknownAcquisition unknownCalifornia owners prior to Bruce Trenerypartial documentation
After export to the US, the car passed through multiple California-based owners before reaching Fantasy Junction; the car had been refinished in silver by this point.
- Date unknownPrivate saleBruce Trenery, Fantasy Junctionpartial documentation
Acquired around the early 1970s for approximately $9,500; directed to repaint the car back to its original red despite preferring silver, after which the car was stripped and refinished.
- Date unknownPrivate salePhysician from Mansfield, Ohiopartial documentation
Car traveled east to this owner after its time at Fantasy Junction.
- Date unknownAcquisition unknownBruce Trenery, Fantasy Junctionpartial documentation
Car returned to Fantasy Junction inventory before being sold onward again.
- Date unknownPrivate salePeter Thomaspartial documentation
Phoenix, Arizona-based buyer who acquired the car from Fantasy Junction in the late 1980s; a high-quality repaint back to silver was completed during or around this ownership, though specifics are not documented.
Competition
No competition history extracted from the catalogue.
Maintenance & restoration
- —BodyworkFantasy Junction
The car, then silver, was stripped and repainted in its original Fire Engine Red at the direction of the seller, despite the then-owner's preference for silver.
Work was carried out while the car was in Bruce Trenery's care, circa early 1970s.
- —Restoration
A comprehensive restoration including a repaint back to silver was completed to a very high standard; specifics of scope are not fully recorded.
Executed during Peter Thomas's ownership in the late 1980s or thereafter; quality described as impressive.
- —ServicePaul Russell and Company
Routine maintenance and servicing carried out by a noted marque specialist.
Performed during the East Coast collector's period of ownership; workshop located in Essex, Massachusetts.
- —ServiceAcademy of Art University
Ongoing routine servicing and maintenance performed by in-house staff over approximately a decade.
Carried out between 2009 and the time of sale as part of the museum's care programme.
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