A 1955 Mercedes, of which only two exist, was sold in early May for 135 million euros. This is an absolute world record for a car at auction, RM Sotheby's announced on Thursday.

The Mercedes Coupé 300 SLR Uhlenhaut was sold on May 5 at a confidential auction at the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart, Germany, in cooperation between Sotheby's subsidiary for luxury cars and the German automaker. At a price of 135 million euros, this Mercedes was sold almost triple the previous record held since 2018 by a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold in 2018 by RM Sotheby's for more than 48 million dollars (45 million euros) .

On par with "the greatest works of art ever sold"

In addition, the Mercedes "300 SLR now ranks in the top 10 most expensive items ever sold at auction," RM Sotheby's said. Oliver Barker, President of Sotheby's Europe, said he felt "an absolute thrill to have hit the auction hammer for this masterpiece of design and engineering, now to be measured against the greatest works of art never sold".

According to a ranking compiled by the AFP news agency, the absolute record is held by Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi", sold in November 2017 for 450.3 million dollars by Christie's in New York (about 390 million euros). euros). Next is Andy Warhol's "Shot Sage Blue Marilyn" which sold on May 9 for $195 million (about 185 million euros) at Christie's, becoming the most expensive 20th century work of art ever sold during public auctions.

According to this ranking of works of art sold at auction of more than 100 million dollars, the Mercedes thus ranks in 6th or 7th place. Sotheby's calls it "the most beautiful car in the world". Owned, like the second copy, by Mercedes-Benz, it was sold to a private collector. Proceeds from the sale "will be used to establish an international Mercedes-Benz fund for youth research scholarships and training in environmental science and decarbonization," according to RM Sotheby's.

It will be shown for exceptional events

The private buyer of the Coupé 300 SLR Uhlenhaut has agreed to present his vehicle to the public at exceptional events, while the other copy will remain the property of Mercedes-Benz, which will continue to exhibit it in its museum in Stuttgart.

According to RM Sotheby's and the luxury and sports car press, the 300 SLR, recognizable by its unusual line and its butterfly doors, was created by engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut, based on a racing car, the W196 R Grand Prix, which won two Formula 1 world championships in 1954 and 1955 with Italian driver Juan Manuel Fangio. But the manufacturer Mercedes-Benz was marked by the terrible accident of its car in June 1955 at the 24 hours of Le Mans, which killed its French driver Pierre Levegh and 83 spectators, and kept him away from motor racing for years.