The Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé Is Now The Most Expensive Car Ever Sold

The world's most expensive car ever sold is now a Mercedes-Benz Coupe out of the '50s.

In 2018, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold for a sum of  $48,405,000 (RM212 million). At the time, it was the most expensive car ever sold. 

Just as we thought things could not get any more bonkers, 2022 proved to be the year that things went up another notch because thanks to a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe, the most expensive car ever sold now is now a Mercedes.

The Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe, which sold for $143 million (RM627 million) at a Sotheby's auction, was one of two 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe prototypes. 

It was sold in a closed-door auction at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart on 5 May where only selected collectors and Mercedes-Benz customers were invited. It was said that the sale took many collectors by surprise as Mercedes-Benz owned both of the 300 SLRs.

The winning bid was made by Simon Kidston, a British car collector, on behalf of an anonymous client. According to CNCB, Kidston lobbied the Mercedes-Benz board for a year and six months to consider selling the car. 

The 67-year-old race car was named after Mercedes' chief engineer at the time, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, and was claimed to have a top speed of 299 kilometres per hour.

Considered one of the most prized cars in auto history, The 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe was based on the company's successful W 196 R Grand Prix car, which won two World Championships under driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

Mercedes-Benz said it would donate the proceeds to create a fund for scholarships and educational research into the environment and decarbonization.