2023 PEBBLE BEACH: BEST OF SHOW!

Fit for a king, a 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster won the ultimate concours honors:  2023 PEBBLE BEACH: BEST OF SHOW!

 2023 PEBBLE BEACH: BEST OF SHOW!

The winning 540 K Special Roadster was originally ordered in May 1937 for Mohammed Zahir Shah, King of Afghanistan, and delivered in September of the same year. The King opted for a Special Roadster with a Sindelfingen body, a highly elegant sculpture exuding performance and speed. It is characterized by the high side line of the doors, curved body contours with a recessed radiator and a flowing rear end with concealed spare wheel. After only five changes of ownership in seven decades, the current owner purchased the vehicle at auction during the Pebble Beach Automotive Week in 2022, for $9.9 million.

This victory is the tenth “Best of Show” title for a Mercedes-Benz vehicle since the start of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 1950. This means that Mercedes-Benz is now the most successful brand in the history of this crowning event in the classic car calendar. It prevailed over a field of Best of the Best classics, winning 2023 PEBBLE BEACH: BEST OF SHOW! 2023 PEBBLE BEACH: BEST OF SHOW!“The 540 K Special Roadster winning 2023 PEBBLE BEACH: BEST OF SHOW! at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance crowns the immense commitment of RM Auto Restoration and Mercedes-Benz Heritage to the restoration of this outstanding vehicle. We are proud to have contributed to this success story with the unique expertise of our Classic Center and the archives. The intensive and good cooperation with RM Auto Restoration during the past months has made this success possible”, said Marcus Breitschwerdt, Head of Mercedes-Benz Heritage

This 540 K Special Roadster was ordered by the Afghan royal court in 1937, and delivered in the autumn of that year. Further history: in the mid-1940s, the French-educated monarch brought the vehicle to the Afghan embassy in Paris. The supercharged sports car arrived in Great Britain in 1950 as a gift for his son-in-law, and was sold to a US collector in 1953. Throughout its long and varied history, the 540 K Special Roadster has always been maintained and preserved in authentic condition. To date, the vehicle has only very few miles on the clock.The current owner of the 2023 PEBBLE BEACH: BEST OF SHOW! vehicle is Jim Patterson. The winners of the “Best of Show” at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2015 (Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Worblaufen Cabriolet, built in 1924) and 2010 (Delage D8 S de Villars Roadster, built in 1933) also come from his collection. The most recent Mercedes-Benz automobiles as winners of the “Best of Show” award were Arturo and Deborah Keller’s Mercedes-Benz 540 K Autobahnkurier in 2021 and Bruce McCaw’s Barker-bodied Mercedes-Benz Type S Touring Car in 2017.A total of 760 chassis for 500 K and 540 K models of the W-29 Series were produced at the Untertürkheim plant between February 1934 and November 1939. 354 had the five-liter engine and 406 the 5.4-liter engine used from 1936 onwards. Nine body variants were available; they were completed at the Sindelfingen plant’s special vehicle workshop. About 60 units of the variants with roadster bodywork were produced.

For more information about Mercedes-Benz Classic, please visit  https://www.mercedes-benz.com/en/classic/

MERCEDES-BENZ 300 SLR UHLENHAUT COUPE

The most valuable car in the world – MERCEDES-BENZ 300 SLR UHLENHAUT COUPE – sold for an all-time record price of 135 million EUR with proceeds to establish the Mercedes-Benz Fund.

MERCEDES-BENZ 300 SLR UHLENHAUT COUPE

A Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe from 1955 has been sold at auction for a record price of 135 million EUR to a private collector. This icon of automotive history is an absolute rarity – one of just two prototypes built at the time. Named after its creator and chief engineer, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, right, it is considered to be one of the finest examples of automotive engineering and design by automotive experts and enthusiasts worldwide.

“The 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupes are milestones in sports car development and key historical elements that have shaped our brand. The decision to sell one of these two unique sports cars was taken with very sound reasoning – to benefit a good cause. The proceeds from the auction will fund a global scholarship program. With the “Mercedes-Benz Fund” we would like to encourage a new generation to follow in Rudolf Uhlenhaut’s innovative footsteps and develop amazing new technologies, particularly those that support the critical goal of decarbonization and resource preservation,” says Ola Källenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Group AG. “At the same time, achieving the highest price ever paid for a vehicle is extraordinary and humbling: A Mercedes-Benz is by far the most valuable car in the world.”

“As a global company and as a luxury brand we bear a great level of responsibility towards society,” says Renata Jungo Brüngger, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG for Integrity and Legal Affairs, who is responsible for the governance of the Mercedes-Benz Fund. “The proceeds from the sale of the MERCEDES-BENZ 300 SLR UHLENHAUT COUPE provide us with a unique opportunity to strengthen our commitment with a long-term flagship project: We will establish the global scholarship program Mercedes-Benz Fund supporting young people in their studies, commitment and actions towards a more sustainable future. We are convinced that access to education in these areas will be crucial in encountering the great challenges of our time and contribute to greater stability, prosperity and social cohesion.”

MERCEDES-BENZ 300 SLR UHLENHAUT COUPEThe Mercedes-Benz Fund will be divided into two sub-categories: University Scholarships in order to connect, educate and encourage students to realize/conduct research on environmental science projects and School Scholarships focusing on pupils to realize local environmental projects in their communities. The program funds will be directed to individuals who otherwise do not have the financial means for their projects and career paths. The program will go beyond financially supporting the young people and include extracurricular elements like Mercedes-Benz mentorships opening up new career prospects. The Fund will be jointly developed with and managed by an experienced partner which is currently being evaluated. The detailed set-up and roll-out planning as well as the partner organization will be announced later this year.

 The sale of the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe took place on May 5th at an auction held at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in cooperation with renowned auctioneer RM Sotheby’s. The invitees were among selected Mercedes-Benz customers and international collectors of cars and art, who share the corporate values of Mercedes-Benz. The Coupe sold at auction was part of the non-public vehicle collection belonging to Mercedes- Benz Classic, comprising more than 1100 automobiles from the invention of the automobile in 1886 until today.

“We are proud that we can contribute with our historical collection to this initiative connecting the past with the future of engineering and decarbonization technology”, says Marcus Breitschwerdt, Head of Mercedes-Benz Heritage. “The private buyer has agreed that the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe will remain accessible for public display on special occasions, while the second original 300 SLR Coupe remains in company ownership and will continue to be displayed at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.”

The special circumstances behind its creation, its unique design and its innovative technology have endowed the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe with a remarkable level of mystique that endures to this day. Its design set benchmarks that put it among the world’s most significant automotive icons – not least on account of its distinctive “gullwing” doors. Added to this is the outstanding performance delivered by its thoroughbred racing technology. Together, both have secured its acclaimed position in sports car mythology and a very special place in the hearts of Mercedes fans around the world.

MERCEDES-BENZ 300 SLR UHLENHAUT COUPEFor more information about the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe, please visit https://www.mercedes-benz.com/en/classic/history/coupe-300-slr/

ONE-OF-ONE: MERCEDES-BENZ UHLENHAUT COUPÉ

Alex Iervolino, Roue watch designer and consummate carguy, blogs about the original,ONE-OF-ONE: MERCEDES-BENZ UHLENHAUT COUPÉ  and Rudolf Uhlenhaut.

ONE-OF-ONE: MERCEDES-BENZ UHLENHAUT COUPÉThe 300 SLR was originally conceived for racing. Mercedes-Benz designed it for the 1956 season, but before it was even completed the company ended up deciding to withdraw from racing at the end of 1955. Even though it was never given a chance to compete, Rudolf Uhlenhaut – the head of the Test Department – managed to appropriate one of the prototypes and transform it into his company car (hence the nickname Uhlenhaut Coupé).

The car with its signature “gull-wing” doors, easily managed to surpass its competitors and earn the reputation as the fastest road car of that era. It reached a maximum speed of approximately 290 km/h (180 mph). Even though it was never used in an official race, that didn’t keep Uhlenhaut from using it like a racecar. Upon noticing he was late for a meeting, rumor has it that he drove from Munich to Stuttgart in just over an hour. Nowadays that same drive takes two-and-a-half hours! The 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé is the only one existing and has always belonged to Mercedes-Benz. Many believe that if this car were ever to go on sale it would fetch the title as the most expensive car in history!

ONE-OF-ONE: MERCEDES-BENZ UHLENHAUT COUPÉ

Note: I met Rudolf Uhlenhaut during a press event at the Indianapolis 500 track in 1971 when Mercedes-Benz introduced Anti-Lock brakes and I was the editor of Hi-Performance CARS magazine. I thought I could go through the cones as fast in an SL with regular brakes as I could when the new Anti-Lock brakes were engaged. Mr. Uhlenhaut rode shotgun with me. Of course, I was dead wrong as I started scattering cones at an alarming rate. He later gave me a verbal driving lesson on the infield, above. My friend and accomplished racing author and photographer, Harry Hurst, had a T-Shirt made for me a couple of years ago, right. Martyn L. Schorr

For information about well crafted, automotive-themed Roue wristwatches and accessories, please visit https://rouewatch.com