Voted "Sports car of the century" in 1999, the 300SL Gullwing is an iconic Mercedes-Benz coupe that was first produced in 1954. Only 1, 400 cars were ever made and early cars, such as the car offered here, are highly desirable to collectors and enthusiasts alike. We are privileged to offer this car fresh to market from the same private ownership as the 300SL Roadster that we sold at the Silverstone Classic in 2018. When supplied new on 27th December 1954 to Hoffman of New York, the car was originally finished in Mercedes 'Racing Silver'. It is an early car and features the highly desirable full 'belly pans' and has also been fitted with a sports camshaft upgrade and, more recently, electronic power steering which can be removed if required. The first UK owner was the famous Lotus Team Manager, the late Peter Warr, who imported the car, which was now finished in striking American fire-engine red, from Arizona in 1989 and subsequently enjoyed the car until it was purchased by our vendor in August 1993. The comprehensive history file shows the thorough and diligent maintenance of the car during his tenure with a number of well known 300SL Specialists, including John Surtees Engineering, marque expert Ron Waghorn, marque expert Tommy Johnston and, more latterly, Neil Corns of Omega Motorsport. The plethora of parts invoices are from Keinle, HK Engineering and Classic Mercedes UK but, most important of all, the injection pump was completely overhauled and rebuilt by HK Engineering in Germany just two years ago. Both the gearbox and brakes have also been recently overhauled, including both the brake drums and master cylinders. The car has benefitted from regular use and has been on many European motor tours to exotic places such as Spain, Portugal, Italy, France and Monaco, as well as competing on the Ecurie Ecosse Scottish Tours no less than 12 times!
