1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupe

Mercedes-Benz returned to motor racing in 1952 with the Type W194 300 SL, which ran in five races that year and won four of them. Thanks to a spaceframe chassis that was built level with the driver's waist, the 300 SL coupe was designed with roof-hinged doors - and the now famous 'Gullwing' war born. In 1953, Mercedes received a letter from its East Coast U.S. agent, Max Hoffman, who believed that racing coupe could be sold as an ultra-expensive road-going sports car. He guaranteed an order for 500 SLs so that production could begin, and the new car was launched at the 1954 New York International Motor Show. Of the 1,400 Gullwings that were built, 29 were constructed with lightweight alloy bodies while the rest were in steel. They were bought by the motor racing elite, like racer and entrepreneur John von Neumann, sportsman Briggs Cunningham, Woolworth heir Lance Reventlow and British racing team owner Rob Walker. This alloy-bodied Gullwing was ordered by the Swiss aristocrat Jean Pierre de Chambrier in June 1955 with Rudge knock-off wheels and uprated brakes, springs and dampers. Mr. de Chambrier kept the car until February 1971, and its second owner had the car until 2005. The current owner acquired the car recently to join his burgeoning collection.