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1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing with Royal Provenance Comes to Market
A 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, originally delivered to a German count and later restored over decades, is offered for sale as part of a private collection.
By Charlotte Redford · 5 min read
A 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, one of 1,400 coupes built during the model's three-year production run, has been listed for sale as part of the Iconic Collection from Private Collection Motors. The car, chassis 5500289, is said to have been ordered new by Franz II, Count of Erbach-Erbach and Wartenberg-Roth, and was reportedly delivered to him at his Erbach palace on 4 May 1955 by Mercedes-Benz sales agent and former racing driver Rudolf Caracciola.
Two years after delivery, the car was sold to a US service member stationed in Germany, who drove it on tours of Europe with his wife in 1957 and 1958. It was later imported to the United States by an Ohio owner before being purchased in 1970 by a member of the Gullwing Group. That owner kept the car for 35 years, during which it received continued service from marque specialist Paul Russell and a cosmetic refresh between the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Further refurbishment work by Paul Russell followed in the mid-2000s. In 2020, the car was bought by an owner who commissioned a re-trim of the seats in blue vinyl and blue plaid gabardine fabric, along with the addition of 15-inch Rudge wheels. The selling dealer purchased the car in 2026 and is now offering it with a two-piece set of fitted luggage, invoices dating back to 1979, historical photographs, and a clean California title.
The 300SL was developed at the suggestion of US importer Max Hoffman, who urged Mercedes to produce a sports car capable of enticing American buyers. Inspired by the company's W194 sports racers, the production model inherited their upward-opening doors, a necessity created by the high sills of the lightweight tubular space frame. The car was introduced at the 1954 International Motor Sports Show in New York and utilised steel bodywork with aluminium panels for the hood, trunk lid, door skins, rocker panels, and floorboards.
This example was refinished in its factory shade of silver (DB180) during the refurbishment carried out by Paul Russell between the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the rocker panels were replaced and the bumpers repaired. Bosch European-specification headlights were added in 2020. Other features include bumpers with guards, a driver-side mirror, pivot-out door handles, and fender louvers with twin horizontal aluminium spears. The silver-painted Rudge wheels were fitted in 2021 and are secured by chrome two-eared knock-offs, with Blockley tyres measuring 185VR15 mounted at all four corners and on a matching spare in the trunk.
Power comes from a 3.0-litre M198 inline-six with Bosch direct mechanical fuel injection and dry-sump lubrication, rated at 215 horsepower at 5,800 rpm. The engine features an aluminium cylinder head, a single overhead camshaft, and sodium-filled exhaust valves. The fuel system was refreshed in 2016, and power is sent to the rear wheels through an all-synchromesh four-speed manual transmission whose gearshift bushings were replaced the same year. The hydraulic braking system uses finned aluminium drums at each corner, with duplex actuation at the front and a Treadle-Vac booster, and was overhauled during Paul Russell's 1999 refurbishment.
The cabin was re-trimmed under previous ownership with blue leather over the seats, which were again re-upholstered in blue vinyl and plaid gabardine cloth in 2022. Features include grey square-weave carpeting, a dashboard-mounted rearview mirror and ashtray, and an ivory-colour shift knob. The two-spoke ivory steering wheel pivots downward at its hub to ease entry and exit. A body-colour dashboard fascia houses VDO instrumentation including a 270 km/h speedometer, a 7,000 rpm tachometer, a windup clock, and gauges for fuel level, oil pressure, coolant temperature, and oil temperature. The five-digit odometer shows 16,000 kilometres, approximately five of which have been added under current ownership.
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