The “Mona Lisa” of the automotive world

The car was sold to a private collector in a secret auction held by RM Sotheby’s and Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart, Germany.

Aside from its unmatched looks and power, the car is also valuable for its rarity. One of only two known to exist, the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé is named after Rudolf Uhlenhaut, the German engineer who built the prototype in 1955. It has long been considered “the most beautiful car in the world.”

Mercedes-Benz was the car’s sole previous owner and kept one in the company’s vault, while the other was used as Uhlenhaut’s personal car.

After the auction, the company said the proceeds would be used by Mercedes-Benz to set up a scholarship fund for young people studying environmental science and decarbonization. RM Sotheby’s said the buyer had agreed to allow the car to be displayed to the public on special occasions.

The only remaining original 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé is on display at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany.

News of the auction came as a surprise to many car collectors, as Mercedes-Benz had previously refused to sell the legendary model. The chassis of the two cars had been reserved by Uhlenhaut during production to be converted from Formula 1 cars into coupes capable of competing in the Carrera Panamericana open-road race in Italy. 

But the automaker finally closed its racing division later that year after the 1955 Le Mans disaster, which killed Mercedes-Benz driver Pierre Levegh and 83 spectators. It remains the deadliest accident in motorsport history, and Mercedes-Benz only returned to racing in 1988.

The mysterious identity of the owner

When the world’s most expensive car was sold, information about the tycoon who could spend more than 3,600 billion VND on a car of course made the public curious. However, to date, the identity of the car buyer is still kept absolutely confidential.

One of the speculations about the owner of this supercar is Hans Kleissl – a famous Mercedes-Benz collector and 300SL expert. He is the owner of HK Engineering, a company specializing in restoring iconic old supercars. On his social networking page, Hans Kleissl posted many pictures of the luxurious 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé. However, there are also some people who think that Hans Kleissl is not the real owner of this luxurious supercar but that he bought it on behalf of one of his customers.