Vehicle Description
To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sothebys' Fort Lauderdale event, 6 -
7 April 2018.
Estimates:
$1,200,000 - $1,500,000
Offered from four decades of single ownership; 36,600 original
milesLate-production example with disc brakes and alloy engine
blockDesirable European specification in wonderful original
colorsDocumented with its Mercedes-Benz build informationA
much-loved roadster with charming history and patina
Please note that Internet bidding is not available for this lot.
Interested parties that are unable to attend the sale may register
to bid by telephone or place a commission bid online at
rmsothebys.com.
At the 1957 Geneva Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz introduced a
convertible version of the celebrated 300 SL "Gullwing," the 300 SL
Roadster. In an early suggestion of the increasing focus the
manufacturer would place on luxury cars over the ensuing decades,
the new roadster was above all a more refined car than its winged
predecessor.
There was no denying the 300 SL's mechanical performance, which had
decidedly improved in the roadster, with the updated six-cylinder
engine receiving the competition camshaft used in the NSL racing
coupes, good for a lift of 20 hp. Handling also benefited from a
revised rear suspension with a lower axle pivot-point, minimizing
the tendency for oversteer. Despite the added weight of chassis
reinforcement required by an open model, the roadster was every bit
the performance car that the Gullwing had proven itself to be.
The roadster's overwhelmingly luxurious character, however,
generally obscured its performance capabilities. With a convertible
soft top, the model was never subject to the uncomfortably hot
cabin issues that beguiled the Gullwing, and the roadster's
redesigned tube frame afforded lower door sills, facilitating far
easier access than the Gullwing's challenging ingress and
egress.
The new 300 SL was an improvement on the Gullwing in nearly every
capacity, at least from a road-going perspective, and it has since
evolved into one of Stuttgart's most collectible models, a darling
of both concours fields and vintage rallies.
Mercedes-Benz build information, included on file, indicates that
the car offered here was commissioned by Sophus Kruse, owner of a
prominent Hamburg real estate firm, finished in the unusual and
striking livery of Mercedes Blue (DB 335) over Light Yellow (1065)
leather with a cream top, lined in matching Light Yellow, and
sporting Continental tires. As a European-specification car, it was
fitted with the desirable single-piece "Euro" headlamps, while as a
late-production car it was also fitted with four-wheel disc brakes
and an alloy engine block - two of the most desirable features on a
300 SL roadster and in which specification only 210 examples were
built.
Interestingly, the build records note that the "vehicle cannot be
delivered without warning until May 15th." It was therefore
completed on 9 May 1962 and took its time to arrive at the
apparently delayed Mr. Kruse.
The current owner acquired the car in the late-1970s from Roger
Miller, a Ford dealer in Wauseon, Ohio, via an advertisement in
Hemmings Motor News; having his priorities in order, he recounts
wanting to buy Miller's 300 SL coupe at the same time, but
eventually decided not to "so that I could still afford to buy a
house." At the time the car still retained its original Light
Yellow interior, as it does today, but had been repainted
apparently to Mr. Kruse's order.
The car was regularly maintained until the early 1980s, at which
point it was refinished in the original Mercedes Blue; the original
interior was preserved, with its patinaed upholstery remaining
wonderfully intact to this day. It also retains its original
alloy-block engine, as confirmed upon a recent inspection. More
recently, its owner has enjoyed displaying it at the University of
Michigan (in suitable colors, no less) as part of a special exhibit
on the automobile as artwork. Receipts are on file for services in
2015 by Rennstatt Racing of Ann Arbor, and the car is accompanied
by owners and service manuals, service information, and
instructions for the Becker Grand Prix radio, all in an original
folio, and a largely complete original tool kit.
Never fully restored but always maintained and enjoyed, this is a
very special late-production European-headlight, disc-brake,
alloy-block 300 SL roadster, in striking colors, offered from one
wonderful long-term home to another.
To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction,
please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/FL18.