Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Is RED-Y For A New Home

Owned by royalty, shipped to the U.S., and fully restored, this seven-figure stunner of a Gullwing is sure to bring top dollar.
 

It’s always quite an event when one of these comes up for sale. The Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing is one of the most sought-after cars in the world. So, when one comes up for sale, you can expect a large number to accompany it. That’s true whether it’s in flawless condition like this one or has spent the last several decades rotting away in a junkyard in Los Angeles. Moreover, virtually every Gullwing has a fantastic story. Mercedes only ever built 1,400, and virtually every one of them has a cool bit of trivia associated with it.
 
For example, this Fire Engine Red 1955 300SL Gullwing currently for sale on Bring A Trailer has a bit of royal blood. It currently lives in California. However, it was originally delivered to the Right Honorable Lord Terence O’Neill. O’Neill later became the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.
 

Through the years, this Gullwing changed hands a few times in Europe before someone imported it to the United States in the 1970s. At the time of writing, the auction has three days remaining and already sits at $1.125 million.
 
Like New; End-to-End
Scott Grundfor, a restoration shop owner in San Luis Obispo, purchased the car in 2004 and began the meticulous process of restoring it to its original glory. The Bring A Trailer listing reports that this includes a fresh coat of Fire Engine Red Paint, interior re-trim, and an overhaul of the engine. A collector purchased the car in 2016 and sent it off for even more restoration. The meticulous love poured into this car makes it about as flawless an example as one could possibly find. So, don’t expect it to come cheap!
 
The car features Bosch direct fuel injection, dry-sump lubrication, and a four-speed manual transmission. The sale includes a set of Taris Charysyn fitted luggage and, of course, a clean California title.
 

Beautiful Time Capsule
Though these cars operate on a financial level that most of us commonfolk will never dream of touching, it’s still phenomenal to get a chance to take a look at them. We’re going to be keeping a close eye on the auction to see what the final hammer price is. After all, the now-legendary Rudi Klein Junkyard Gullwing sold for nearly $10 million. That, however, was an extremely rare alloy body version.
 
Ultimately, we can’t put a great estimate on what the final sale price will be. We do know one thing, though. It’ll be a whole lot.