This is the World’s most expensive car. Yes, literally the number 1 most expensive car in the world. This car is worth over $100 Million and it is the 1955 Mercedes 300SLR, some experts have even valued the Mercedes at $300 Million. Only 2 of these Mercedes SLRs exist in the world. Both cars are owned by Mercedes and have never been put up for sale. The car now sold for (135m EUR) $143,000,000 on May 5th 2022.
The World’s Most Expensive Car | 300 SLR
A road-legal race car of epic proportions, this work of automotive art sold for $143,000,000 nearly three years ago.
If you take a look at the ten most expensive cars ever sold, you’ll discover that nearly all of them are iconic race cars.
Exquisite and innovative, those vehicles have been driven to victory in prestigious races by some of the greatest race drivers of all time.
However, the Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe, which, in May 2022, became the most expensive car ever sold by a large margin, has a different story.
Though built for the track, it never got to race and was eventually converted for road use by one of the greatest engineers in automotive history.
Rudolf Uhlenhaut’s masterpiece
Born in London on July 15, 1906, to a British mother and a German father, Rudolf Uhlenhaut spent most of his childhood in England, but after the outbreak of World War I, his family relocated to Belgium, and then Germany.
Though one of his biggest passions was skiing, Uhlenhaut was also fascinated by engineering, so he chose to study at the Technical University of Munich, where he was close to the Bavarian Alps.
After finishing his studies in 1931, Uhlenhaut was hired by Mercedes-Benz, where he immediately showcased his dedication and ingenuity while working on the carmaker’s production models.
Just five years later, the promising engineer was put in charge of the Rennabteilung (Racing Department), a position in which he quickly made up for the lack of experience with unrivaled commitment.
Uhlenhaut became the only engineer in the racing department who habitually tested the race cars and traveled with the factory team, so under his leadership, Mercedes-Benz quickly rose to motorsport prominence.
After the outbreak of WWII, the German manufacturer was forced to cease its motorsport endeavors and concentrate on aiding the war effort.
However, by the early 1950s, Uhlenhaut and his team began developing the all-new W196, which proved dominant during the 1954 and 1955 Formula 1 seasons.
In 1955, Uhlenhaut also developed the 300 SLR. Built on the backbones of the W196 Formula 1 car, the SLR was designed specifically for the World Sportscar Championship (WSC), the world’s premier endurance racing competition.
From race car to company car
The 300 SLR was just as dominant in the WSC as its W196 sibling was in Formula 1.
While it won three of the six races on the calendar and brought Mercedes-Benz the title, the SLR was also involved in the most horrific crash in the history of motorsport during the Le Mans 24-hour race.
In the aftermath of the crash, which claimed the lives of 83 spectators and French driver Pierre Levegh, the manufacturer decided to retire from motorsport after the conclusion of the season.
Prior to the crash, Uhlenhaut and his team began work on transforming two of the nine 300 SLR chassis from roadsters to coupes for the Carrera Panamericana.
While the cars never got to race, they were subsequently homologated for road use.
One became Uhlenhaut’s daily-driven company car, and the other went on to embark on promotional duties before being retired in the Mercedes-Benz museum.
The Uhlenhaut Coupe in detail
Like the initial SLR 300 roadster, the Uhlenhaut Coupe was based on the longer-wheelbase W196 steel tube spaceframe chassis.
The structure was equipped with an independent double-wishbone suspension system in the front and a complex swing-axle setup at the rear.
The brakes used drums on both axles, but they were mounted inboard to reduce unsprung weight.
A 3.0-liter M 196 S straight-eight linked to a four-speed manual and a limited-slip differential delivered power to the rear wheels —the same race-bred powertrain used by the 300 SLR roadster.
Capable of delivering a little over 300 hp, the motor, which evolved from the 2.5-liter Formula 1 unit at the heart of the W196, was equipped with desmodromic valves actuated by two overhead cams and an innovative Bosch direct fuel injection system.
Furthermore, the engineering work of art received a dry-sump lubrication system and chromium-coated aluminum cylinder sleeves.
The chassis and powertrain were covered by the new lightweight Elektron magnesium-alloy coupe body, complete with gullwing-opening doors and a few upgrades over the initial roadster structure.
The fastest, most impressive road car in the world
With only a reupholstered interior that made the cabin look more comfortable than it actually was, the Uhlenhaut Coupe was the fastest, most impressive road car in the world back in 1955.
Legend has it that Rudolph Uhlenhaut, who was late for a meeting, covered the approximately 143-mile (230-km) distance between Munich and Stuttgart in under an hour.
Capable of attaining a top speed that exceeded 180 mph (290 kph), the Coupe (and the lack of a speed limit on the German autobahn) helped the legendary engineer arrive on time after a trip that would’ve taken him at least two-and-a-half hours in a normal passenger car.
The original hypercar
The Mercedes-AMG One of its era, but rarer and more race car-based, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe can be considered the world’s first hypercar.
Back in the mid-1950s, no other sports car that one could drive legally on public roads came close in terms of speed, performance, and ingenuity.
As I mentioned before, Mercedes-Benz kept both examples and although high-profile collectors dreamed about owning one, they knew that the German manufacturer would never part ways with their priceless legends.
However, that changed in 2022 when the company decided to auction one off and use the record-breaking sum to establish the Mercedes-Benz Fund.
For a virtual tour of this legendary ride, we recommend watching the YouTube video below by Supercar Blondie.
