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$1.4million Mercedes-Benz Gullwing headlines Scottsdale auction

28th January 2025
Adam Wilkins

Bonhams|Cars' 2025 auction season commenced last week with Scottsdale Auction, taking place in Arizona. The three-pointed star was strongly in evidence, not only taking the highest (seven-figure) bid, but in making up no fewer than three of the top five results with a spread across three consecutive decades from the 1950s onwards. Here are the highlights from the first auction of the year.

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1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing

Sold for $1.4million (£1.1million) including premium

The Mercedes-Benz Gullwing is a car that needs no introduction. Quite apart from those distinctive doors that lent the car its nickname, it has an illustrious history that has set in stone its place in the automotive sphere. With its spaceframe chassis, the Sports Leicht was a success on track.

This 1956 example was delivered to a German owner when it was new but has been in long-term American ownership. It’s a matching numbers machine in its original silver over blue colour scheme, which all added up to enough desirability to see it reach close to $1.5million.

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1992 Porsche 911 Turbo

Sold for $257,000 (£205,000) including fees

Continuing the largely German theme of this top five is a 964 generation Porsche 911 Turbo. There’s something inherently correct about the way this generation of the rear-engined sports car sits on the road, and that’s only emphasised by the gleaming Guards Red paint of this example.

The 17,600 miles on the clock is believed to be accurate, and it was most recently owned by an Arizona-based car collector. While the 911 Turbo occupies a prominent place in the psyche of car enthusiasts, it sold in very low volumes – in 1992, only 289 were supplied to the United States.

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1971 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE

Sold for $250,000 (£200,000) including fees

From the 1960s and into the early ’70s, the W111 was at the top of the Mercedes-Benz tree for luxury motoring. It was sold in coupé, cabriolet and saloon forms and, either way, was hand finished to a high standard at the Sindelfingen factory. Later in the W111’s life, the introduction of the 3.5-litre M116 V8 engine with Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection gave it a noticeable performance boost.

Few of its rivals of the time – including those with much higher price tags – could match the driving experience it offered. This example was bought new by Los Angeles resident Maxine Duckworth who collected the car from Stuttgart before embraking on a European tour, then having the car shipped to the States. It remained in the same family’s ownership until 2004.

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1987 Nissan Skyline Type HR31 GTS-R

Sold for $201,600 (£161,000) including fees

It may not be a GTR, but this Nissan Skyline GTS-R is close to royalty among the model. It was the first Skyline to race in the Calsonic livery and is believed to be the only known survivor. In 1988, this Impul-prepared car achieved two top-five finishes and three less-celebrated DNFs. 

For the past 30 years, it has been part of the consignor’s collection and had a complete refurbishment last year ahead of a reunion with one of its three drivers, Kazuyoshi Hoshino at Fuji Speedway. Now back in as-raced specification, this is a significant part of Japanese motorsport history and the only non-German in this top five.

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1961 Mercedes-Benz 190SL Roadster

Sold for $156,800 (£125,000) including fees

The second Mercedes-Benz SL to make it into the Scottsdale top five comes in the more affordable Roadster form. It was American importer Maz Hoffman who suggested to Mercedes-Benz that a convertible version of the 300SL Gullwing would prove popular among buyers on his side of the Atlantic, and so it proved.

This example retains the Horizon Blue bodywork and light cream leather it left the factory with in 1961, and is the subject of an older restoration. Authentic detailing helped it on its way to a 190SL Group concours victory.

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