Mercedes-Benz: The Brand of Auction Records

Mercedes-Benz, along with its predecessors Mercedes and Benz, has always been a game changer, starting with the 1886 Benz 3/4hp, the first car with a gasoline engine, through to the 1930s Silver Arrows, the famous Gullwing, and the recent AMG One that set the new Nürburgring record. I could also mention the ABS, Level 3 autonomous driving, the 6.9 engine. In short, every time a new generation of the Star is released, there is a "before and after". Even in auctions, the prices reached by Mercedes cars have marked turning points. Let's examine which ones, by looking at the past twenty years.

In 2004, the first major "shift" in auctions was set by the famous 1929 Mercedes-Benz 38/250 SSK Short Wheelbase bodied by Carlton, known as "Milligen", after its last owner, George Milligen, who had purchased it on June 10, 1941, and kept it for over six decades. Bonhams offered it at the Goodwood Revival on September 3, 2004. The estimate was on request, but it was rumored to be £1.5-2.5 million, a figure equivalent to fifteen Gullwings. But collectors went far beyond, and the bids didn’t stop until the hammer fell at £4,181,500. It became the most expensive car of the year and the second-most expensive car ever sold. A few years later, it was revealed that the buyer was Dutchman Evert Louwman, Europe’s top collector with his magnificent museum in The Hague, and the SSK became the centerpiece of his collection.