RECORDS SMASHED BY €135M MERCEDES SALE

"For everyone involved, and especially the new owner, this was truly a once-ina-lifetime chance to buy the Mona Lisa of cars"

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The sale of one of the two 300SLR Uhlenhaut Coupés by Mercedes-Benz to a private party has set a new auction record, €90m above the previous best. Mercedes had owned both cars since their construction in '55, but has now let go of chassis 0008/55, the second built.

RM Sotheby's hosted the sale at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, on 6 May, inviting a select number of buyers to the private event. Prominent broker Simon Kidston made the winning bid on behalf of an as-yet-unidentified buyer.

"Many collectors had tried [to buy an SLR], all had failed," said a delighted Kidston. "For everyone involved, and especially the new owner whom we represented, this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to buy the Mona Lisa of cars."