To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sothebys' Paris event, 4 - 5 February 2025.

• Exhibited by the factory at the 1956 Turin International Automobile Salon, and privately entered in the 1957 Mille Miglia
• Equipped with rare and highly desirable competition-derived Rudge wheels
• Restored by Stefano Coratelli since 2021, including sympathetic mechanical freshening and refinish in the proper 1957 Mille Miglia livery
• Rare example of a factory show car Gullwing

The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing is undoubtedly one of the most iconic sports cars ever produced. This beautifully restored example boasts factory exhibition use and period competition entry, resulting in one of the most fetching examples to be offered in recent memory.

This Mercedes-Benz is one of 308 Gullwings built during 1956. According to the combined information of the Gullwing Group Register, Eric Le Moine’s 300 SL register, and an estratto cronologico, chassis number 6500052 was factory-finished in Silvergrey Metallic paint over an interior trimmed in special-order red leather. Most importantly, the car was equipped with the highly desirable Rudge wheels.

Officially dispatched in early April 1956, the 300 SL was initially retained by the factory for promotional use, being presented by Mercedes-Benz later that month at the 1956 Turin International Automobile Salon. Following this unusual function as a factory show car, the Gullwing was sold to Agostino Di Stefano, who registered the car in Milan in late May 1956. Di Stefano entered the 300 SL as #424 in the 1957 Mille Miglia, although the car apparently never arrived.

In May 1963 the Mercedes-Benz passed to Francesco Giorgio Galluzzo, and by the end of the decade the car was exported to the United States, where it was discovered in Nyack, New York, by marque enthusiast Jan Fraser. In the late-1970s Mr Fraser sold the Gullwing to Dr Leon Levine of Escondido, California, and he retained possession for several decades before selling the car to a respected West Coast-based collector. During this ownership, German car specialist Tom Drummond was retained to perform a body-on restoration, including a repaint in the original colour and a refresh of the interior in blue leather.

Offered for sale by auction in January 2014, the Mercedes-Benz was acquired by a respected British dealer before passing to the consignor, an Italian collector. In 2021 the current caretaker commissioned a sympathetic restoration by Swiss specialist Stefano Coratelli that included a tune-up of the engine, a rebuild of the brakes, fuel pump, and electrical systems, and new wheel bearings, engine mounts, and hoses. BeB Carrozzeria of Barbengo refinished the coachwork in the original colour of Silvergrey Metallic and painted the number 424 on the doors, bonnet, and rear deck lid, as per its proposed appearance for the 1957 Mille Miglia.

It should be noted that this Gullwing is equipped with a period factory-issued replacement engine that has been restamped with the original number, as confirmed by a unique tag on the motor reading “Original Mercedes-Benz Austauschaggregat”. This striking Gullwing is documented with copies of 1957 Mille Miglia paperwork, an ACI estratto cronologico, register entries from the Gullwing Group and Eric Le Moine, and restoration photos.

As a rare factory show car that was privately entered at the 1957 Mille Miglia, this beautifully restored Rudge-wheel Gullwing would make a sensational acquisition for any discerning marque enthusiast.
To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/auctions/pa25/.