On May 5, a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe sold for $142 million during an auction at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. It was the highest price ever paid for a car at auction, soundly beating the eight-figure Ferrari sales that had long topped the blue-chip billing.
Interesting that the exhaust pipes are right next to the passenger door.
Some additional details at Bloomberg, where the discussion is mostly about how (and whether) to insure a car like this.
Posted for Jesse to consider adding to the 50,000 posts at Just A Car Guy.
What does not seem to be covered anywhere is why did Mercedes Benz agree to sell it - they had previously said they would not, and they presumably don't need the money.
ReplyDeleteLol, Awww thanks! I didn't post this because it was covered EVERY WHERE! HA! Even here! Lol, and because of your influence, in regards to posting what people won't see anywhere else (seriously, you're awesome) I often don't post stuff that is going viral. Especially when I don't find it interesting, like this billionaire boys club purchase. I'd post this CAR, but not the sale. The car is fascinating, and a design and engineering feat.... but the sale is just a blip on the investors radar of where the ridiculously wealthy invest their money, not what they drive for fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the shout out!
I don't begrudge the wealthy their money. But when you consider that this is, well, really, a vanity purchase, and when you realize how far those millions could go to truly change the course of people's lives, it's hard not to compare it to a form of gluttony. That is, eating for the sake of it, instead of to stay healthy...or, in this case, buying something for the sake of it, instead of to do good in the world.
ReplyDeleteIt seems likely that the owner must already have been quite wealthy, even before deciding to sell the car. So wealth leaves the hands of one wealthy person...and goes into the pocket of another wealthy person.
Maybe it's just me, but every time I daydream about winning the lottery, I do think of the good things I can have--a nicer home, vehicle, my bills paid, etc.--but I also think of the good I can do. Consider that for poor folks, as little as $1000 can help them pay a bill and so stay in their home for at least another month or so--maybe enough to allow them to catch up and stay ahead. And $10,000, while it may seem not quite that much to us, for a poor person, that is almost beyond belief, I would imagine.
Again, I'm not against the rich being rich--or even getting richer. But to take an approach of gluttony/vanity while others have so little...well, isn't there something just a little wrong with that? It's not the all the rich folks went out and worked hard and earned their wealth (although some did).
Just my thoughts....