[RahulNagaraj]

The record for the world's most expensive car is believed to have been smashed. According to unconfirmed media reports, Mercedes-Benz has sold one of its ultra-luxurious Silver Arrows racecars for a whopping 135 million euros (US$142 million).



It is said that the seller, on behalf of Mercedes-Benz, had invited 10 (or fewer) carefully selected car collectors for the secret auction. He made sure they were not only wealthy enough to pay but also satisfied with the strict criteria laid down by the German car brand. Reports suggest that Mercedes-Benz wanted to ensure the custodian of the Silver Arrow lavish the car with the same attention as the company, while also sharing the car at events.

All potential buyers were invited to the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart, with the key collectors being flown in on a private jet. Mercedes-Benz, though, is yet to confirm the rumours of the world-record sale.

If confirmed, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR will become the most expensive car in the world. At US$142 million, the 300 SLR is valued at nearly double that of a Ferrari 250 GTO, which sold for US$70 million at a private sale in 2018.



The Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR had dominated the racing scene, winning 9 of the 12 races it entered and helping F1 legend Juan Manuel Fangio win the driver's world championship in 1954 and 1955. The "Silver Arrow" also dominated the world sportscar championship in 1955 with Sir Stirling Moss behind the wheel.



Mercedes-Benz built two road-legal 300 SLRs with hardtops, called Uhlenhaut Coupe. One of them was driven by Rudolf Uhlenhaut, head of the test department, who drove it as a company car. The second model is the one that is said to have been sold at the auction.

Source: Hagerty

Link to Team-BHP news

[Raghu M]

Phew, the magic wealth has. And the possible ways of burning a few hundred millions. By normal methods, what would the actual cost of the car be in today's nos. anyway. Highly valuable but definitely not the auction amount.

[V.Narayan]

Oh my God. Much as I love cars, much as I drooll over this model and it's looks I can't put my head around the thinking that is willing to spend around ₹1000+ crores on a collector's item in a world so overloaded with a thousand philanthropic missions and causes desperately in need of support to help the bottom two thirds of humanity. Now some will say it is our money and we can do what we want with it. That too is a rule/norm made by us the well off for ourselves.
To put things in context ₹1000 crores equals 10 years of school education including mid-day meals for 8000 kids or the cost of building twenty 200 bed hospitals just to share two of many examples. Many might see my comment as the mutterings of an out of date person.

[Jeroen]

That is an astonishing, if not obscene, amount of money. I will grant you this is a magnificent car, but this sort of prices is beyond the ridiculous.

If you are interested in the MB 300SLR, have a look at this thread:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/beyon...er-arrows.html (Unique exhibition: Mercedes Silver Arrows)

Jeroen

[nakul0888]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Oh my God. Much as I love cars, much as I drooll over this model and it's looks I can't put my head around the thinking that is willing to spend around ₹1000+ crores on a collector's item in a world so overloaded with a thousand philanthropic missions and causes desperately in need of support to help the bottom two thirds of humanity. Now some will say it is our money and we can do what we want with it. That too is a rule/norm made by us the well off for ourselves.
To put things in context ₹1000 crores equals 10 years of school education including mid-day meals for 8000 kids or the cost of building twenty 200 bed hospitals just to share two of many examples. Many might see my comment as the mutterings of an out of date person.

The US Federal Govt spent like 6-8 trillion USD during the Covid pandemic, every other government was on a spending mission too like there is no tomorrow, to help the poor and the needy. Look at where its got us? All that trillions of spending and have anything been solved yet? Nope.
The answer to alleviating poverty has always been less sexy than people want it to be. Its grueling, steady, stable economic growth. Not some Bernie Sanders messiah or Mother Theresa who is going to make it better by sheer will power and courage to stand up to the elites or greed or whatever.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Oh my God. Much as I love cars, much as I drooll over this model and it's looks I can't put my head around the thinking that is willing to spend around ₹1000+ crores on a collector's item in a world so overloaded with a thousand philanthropic missions and causes desperately in need of support to help the bottom two thirds of humanity. Now some will say it is our money and we can do what we want with it. That too is a rule/norm made by us the well off for ourselves.
To put things in context ₹1000 crores equals 10 years of school education including mid-day meals for 8000 kids or the cost of building twenty 200 bed hospitals just to share two of many examples. Many might see my comment as the mutterings of an out of date person.

+10000%. I don't think I could have said it better.

The fact that someone paid this much money for what is essentially just a car is at odds with my thinking.

[Dry Ice]

It’s not merely a car, is it? This is a piece of art, and if you look at the sale from that perspective, it might just be an “investment”. The buyer may not even be a car enthusiast, who knows?

Remember, somebody paid $450 million for a painting whose origins are disputed.

[Asish_VK]

$142M !?
Just ultra billionaire things.

Does it include a set of mechanics, it's own workshop, own race track etc?

[SmartCat]

$120 million is the max I would pay. $142 million is a bit over the top. But I guess this can happen in an auction environment.

[Maynk760]

From what I have heard the car will go to a private collection in America which is split between 3-4 brothers. Allegedly they own over 700 cars most of which are kept private. Just some time ago they bought 8 classic Ferraris from Bernie Ecclestone for a combined value of $40m.

[EV NXT]

The worlds largest car collectors are known for philanthropic activities in almost every area - education, healthcare, aid to countries struck by floods / famine, debt relief funds etc cumulatively in excess of US$ billions and counting.

This is by one of the worlds largest car collectors:

https://u.ae/en/information-and-serv...pic-activities

Maybe they need to indulge themselves once in a while.

[SmartCat]

Honestly, talking about charity or indulgence on this thread is irrelevant. These are classified as COLLECTIBLE CARS and is considered to be a separate asset class.
https://www.investopedia.com/article...-and-risks.asp

That is, this is an investment. The buyer expects to sell at a higher price down the line. Like any asset class, there is a boom and a bust cycle too in the world of collectible cars. There is even an index which tracks the average prices of collectible cars:



So sure, collectible car prices are at all time highs now. But then, so was NASDAQ till recently.

[EV NXT]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

That is, this is an investment. The buyer expects to sell at a higher price down the line.

What you’ve mentioned is true IF the buyer expects to sell at a higher price down the line. However, most of these purchases are out of a passion to collect cars AND NOT to buy and sell cars like a car dealer.

Similar to one “investing” in a residential house. The value may increase but one doesn’t buy and sell residential houses so the increase in value is only academic.

There maybe “Dealers in Collectible Cars” whose business it it to buy and sell collectible cars - they are NOT car collectors. They are car dealers trading in a collectible car collection and for them it would be an asset class whose value they expect would increase down the the line.

This is not the case with the top car collectors. They do not sell their collection. So the increase in the value of their cars is only of academic value.

[Turbohead]

142 million for a car the owner may not even drive.

While charity etc are definitely worth pondering about, a look at that car's design is enough to convince anyone that it's worth it. The newer SL series doesn't look so flamboyant.

This is a real looker. Absolutely gorgeous! I guess I have an new crush!

[srini1785]

The car is no doubt gorgeous. When you are a billionaire, love cars and have one life to live then the price tag of 135M Euro is no surprise. Whosoever was in charge of the sale earned his commission handsomely. He chose his potential customers after lot of research, made sure they had the bank balance and marketed the product very well.

Some years back a work that had a dubious attribution to Leonardo da Vinci and was extensively retouched to match his style sold for 450Mi $. The rumored buyer was MbS of SA. It has since disappeared from public view. Hope nothing of that sort happens with this car. So strange are the ways of this world.