Barn Find: '55 Benz Gullwing
While the rest of us dream about things like that long-since-departed puppy we had as a child or Angelina Jolie in somethin' skimpy, classic car collectors dream of the barn find: a forgotten classic automobile sitting in a barn somewhere for decades, just waiting to be discovered. For some lucky collector, that dream will come true with this unrestored 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL "Gullwing" coupe.
The Gullwing remains one of the most venerated of classic automobiles. It wasn't much of a performer, but the styling set it apart from anything and everything else on the road. It also had the first gasoline engine with fuel injection.
This example, with a white finish and red leather interior, was recently found in a barn where it sat in storage, undriven, for the past 30 years. It's only had one owner since 1969, and while it looks pretty beat up, that just means it's ripe for a full restoration. The car is for sale, price upon request, from Aston Martin of New England. Good examples can easily sell for $400,000, so you can bet somebody's going to snatch this one up and give it the TLC it deserves.
[Source: Aston Martin of New England & Lotus Motorsports, inc. via German Car Scene]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Janez Prenar, Slovenia, Europe 9:04AM (7/29/2008)
I am interseted for Mercedes 300 SL. Send me please more photos and car description.
Best wishes
Janez Prenar
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Janez Prenar, Slovenia, Europe 9:05AM (7/29/2008)
I am interseted for Mercedes 300 SL. Send me please more photos and car description.
Best wishes
Janez Prenar
Reply
G. Snyder 11:57AM (1/03/2007)
Wasn't much of a performer? Are you serious? Perhaps its performance numbers are not great by today's standards - but pitted against its contemporaries it does very well indeed.
I assume you mean that this was the first "mass" production road-going automobile with fuel injection. Your statement was pretty imprecise.
Bravo autoblog. Bravo.
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che culattone 11:57AM (1/03/2007)
i think i just wet myself
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Green Lotus Elise 4:25PM (1/03/2007)
Wow, talk about some good luck! I've come across Volkswagen Rabbits and Datsun Z cars in long lost places but this has to take the cake!
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David Traver Adolphus 12:37PM (1/03/2007)
Not really sure it's a "Barn Find" when Christie's sold it at auction at Greenwich in 2005...$205,000, BTW.
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Tobby 12:14PM (1/03/2007)
Who throws a gullwing in a barn?
"What Tim....no room in the Temp Controlled Garage for the Enzo, just throw it out back..."
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Richard Brown 12:50PM (1/03/2007)
Amen on the wetting myself. Finding THAT car in a garage is second on my all-time dream days, first being finding a Ferrari 250GTO...
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Lithous 12:45PM (1/03/2007)
Looks real easy to get into and side molding strategically and exquisitely placed such that all former Pontiac designers are wetting themselves too.
Just put a $20K (or more) paint job on it and all those nuances fade away.
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DriftPunch 1:26PM (1/03/2007)
I can't remember what it was for, but a commercial exploited the barn find a few years ago. All I remember was a goofy looking buy and an old lady were looking at a barn door. She slides the door open to reveal a Countach. The stunned guy says in a choking and broken voice "$1,000" (the viewer presumes that the guy saw an add for a 'car' for a grand). The old lady looks at him (presumably taking his lack of clarity as disappointment), and says "Ok tough guy, $500 but not a penny less.
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gkz 12:39PM (1/03/2007)
very, very cool.
i may be ridiculed for saying this; but if i had it, i'd be tempted to just clean it up as much as possible and not restore it. i think there's something to be said for leaving it "as is". but, maybe that's just me.
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mb 145 1:40PM (1/03/2007)
G. Snyder - You got it absolutely right! Watch the Top Gear episode on the Gull Wing. I forget the details, but it did around 150 mph in its hay day. James May claims that it was the FIRST super car. I agree.
http://www.shoutfile.com/v/C5QEmDqa/Top_Gear_1954_Mercedes_Benz_300SL_Gullwing
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Bob in Cobb 12:55PM (1/03/2007)
One of my customers had a gull wing just like this. It was used for petroleum additive research, with a lot of exotic engines and cars. If you worked there you could sign-up to use it for a weekend. The waiting list for the Merc was always 18 months long. Sweet car but upkeep would break the bank, even in the early sixties. It had a total belly pan that had to be removed, 4 hours, to do any maintenance.
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chuck goolsbee 1:12PM (1/03/2007)
Actually, the price bar has been raised on these recently. A 1957 300sl Roadster sold for over $600,000 last year at Monterey.
I have actually had the privilege of *driving* a 300sl on two occasions, one of which involved some time on a racetrack(!) They are *truly* amazing machines, and worth every pfenning thrown at them. They were the world's first true supercar. Their price tag when new was around $10,000. This was when your average American sedan cost you around a thousand bucks. They are built to a stratospheric standard of quality... the fit and finish of every centimeter of these cars is true perfection. This from an era when irregular panel gaps and leaks
were the norm.
Most importantly, they DRIVE very well. A 300sl can putter quietly about town in absolute style and comfort (especially the Roadsters, which do not suffer from cockpit heat like the coupes), but if you so desire you can rev the inline six engine up to above 4000 RPM - the mechanical fuel injection will clatter like a
straffing me109 and you will blitz along (still in comfort and style) at 130 MPH... or more!
Unlike most restorations, the cost sunk into a 300sl will likely be repaid in spades. This is not a machine that was churned out in big numbers like muscle cars, this is a true limited-run (around 3000 built in 10 years) motoring icon.
--chuck
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Andy 1:35AM (1/04/2007)
Barn find...the Bullitt Mustang is rotting in a Kentucky barn with rust spots and faded paint.
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Mercedes videos 3:34PM (1/03/2007)
I always think to myself that cars like this have all been snatched up in the past, but I guess if you look hard enough you can find them.
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Dan from Delaware 5:04PM (1/03/2007)
Also, the 300SL was one of only two road cars in its day with a tubular spaceframe chassis, the other being the Lotus 7.
The down side was very tricky handling due to the swing-arm rear suspension. Like the Enzo and others, a lot of 300SL's were crashed by their rich and unsuspecting owners.
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BOB 3:30PM (1/03/2007)
MY THREE CENTS--
-- Good design is arresting after 50+ years
-- These did cost $10,000, when an Eldorado was half that and a fancy Chevy was $2500.
-- Someone please spend what it takes to make the car like new, but don't get obsessive and overdo.
I THINK CARS LIKE THIS BELONG TO ALL OF US, IN A WAY, AND I LOVE TO SEE THEM.
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Richard Warren 2:46PM (1/03/2007)
That's hot!
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Brian 11:44AM (1/05/2007)
haha! I saw this car at that aston martin dealer a month or so ago. Amazing dealership. They had a perfectly restored Lamborghini Miura in the showroom that was recently sold. The whole garage they have is just unbelievable
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