1955 Mercedes - Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupe

Chassis No. 198.040.5500564
Engine No. 198.980.55.00596
Body No. A198.040.5500507

Born from the fusion of racing purpose and market vision, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing stands as one of the most significant sports cars of the twentieth century. Its origins trace directly to the competition-proven W194 Coupe developed by engineers at Mercedes-Benz after World War II to reassert the brand's motorsport leadership against European rivals. Guided by chief engineer Fritz Nallinger, test department manager Rudolf Uhlenhaut, and construction engineer Joseph Müller, the W194 introduced an exceptionally rigid and lightweight tubular space frame weighing roughly 70 kilograms. The high structural side members of this frame necessitated the car's distinctive roof-hinged doors, which gave rise to the legendary “Gullwing” configuration.

The W194 quickly proved its racing pedigree with commanding results, including a second-place finish at the Mille Miglia, a dominant victory at the Grand Prix of Bern in Switzerland and a celebrated 1–2 finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. These achievements captured international attention and directly inspired American distributor and importer Max Hoffman, who championed the development of a road-going version for the United States market.

Introduced in 1954, the production 300 SL Coupe transformed racing technology into grand touring refinement. The car adopted Bosch direct mechanical fuel injection, a revolutionary system that delivered approximately 25 additional horsepower compared to the carbureted racing engine. The 3.0-liter inline-six was tilted 50 degrees to enable a lower hood profile and improve aerodynamic efficiency, while dry-sump lubrication supported sustained high-performance operation.

Lightweight construction was central to the design philosophy. At approximately 1,300 kilograms, the 300 SL could achieve top speeds approaching 260 km/h with the right rear axle ratio like in this car, making it the fastest German production sports car of its era. Only 1,400 Gullwing Coupes were built between 1954 and 1957.

According to the Gull Wing Group registry, this exceptional 300 SL was sold new through the Zürich, Switzerland Handelsgesellschaft (general importer), which was responsible as the official Swiss trading entity and distributor for high-end Mercedes-Benz imports. Completing production on 25 July 1955, the car was shipped five days later, finished in Silver Grey Metallic (180) over a Blue vinyl interior with very attractive Blue Plaid seat inserts (L1).

The earliest owner on record, since at least the 1960s, was Hans Huwyler, who owned the Touring Garage in the historic city of Lenzburg, a short drive from Zürich. Extraordinary historic paperwork and period photographs document the car throughout the years, finished in green and fitted with the sought-after Rudge wheels. Its engine, as ordered, came equipped with the ''NSL'' sport camshafts, which added an extra 10 horsepower, a welcome asset when climbing through the Swiss Alps surrounding Lenzburg. Additionally, a recent conversation with his son Johannes confirmed the car was alternately registered on original cantonal private family license plates of ''AG 338,'' as well as the Aargau dealer plates ''AG 9145.''

Huwyler was a dealer and highly skilled technician for Mercedes-Benz and Simca, the latter of which he seems to have participated in some motorsport activity with as well. It is understood that the car's current shade of attractive Green was applied by Mercedes-Benz sometime before the Huwylers' acquisition of the car from a doctor in Bern for the then-princely sum of CHF 4'500, as they had only ever known the car to be green. Interestingly, the car's original paint has been found underneath the current green paint, the latter clearly dating from the 1960s – and thus being well over 60 years old, and still tremendously preserved.

Quite extraordinarily, Huwyler journaled the accrued mileage during his ownership through the 1980s-oil changes, long drives, maintenance, and the like are all recorded. The car undoubtedly lived a full and very well maintained life-whether in the Swiss Alps on an “Alpenfahrt” (alpine drive) or such summer destinations as the canton of Tessin or Ascona, Johannes recounts the car's usage primarily on holiday driving and for enjoyment, never as a daily driver. Various concours and oldtimer events in later ownership are listed as well, whether it's the Nürburgring, the Eifelrennen, or the famous Grossglockner mountain pass in Austria.

In 1994, Johannes, now living in San Mateo, California, engaged in the automotive business in his own right, exported the car to the United States, where it remained for the next decade before its return to Europe in 2006. The owner at that point was the renowned Mercedes-Benz 300 SL expert Ben Valkenburg, from whose collection the car is offered today. Given just 24 hours to decide, Ben, together with his son Bart, purchased the car on the strength of only a handful of photographs and a trusted recommendation, before they exported the car to Belgium.

Valkenburg has maintained and enjoyed this car ever since, preserving its extraordinary originality and continuing the process of journaling the car's mileage and the myriad events in which the car has participated. These include a third prize at Potsdam in 2006, a First in Class award at the 2007 Mercedes-Benz Classic Days Concours d'Elegance, and a first prize in Salzburg that same year, as well as the ADAC Nürburgring Classic that September, where it was also an award-winner. The car went on to take first prize at Brooklands in 2008, and first prize in the evocatively named ''Sleeping Beauties'' class at the Classic Days at Schloss Dyck.

Today the car is presented with just over 72,000 kilometers displayed on the odometer at the time of cataloging, which due to the detailed logbook is believed to be an original 172,000 kilometers. The car exhibits a lovely patina throughout, the likes of which are almost undiscoverable on 300 SL Gullwings of the era. From the factory-applied silver dash with its Becker Mexico radio to all three of its original belly pans, and special six-fin brake drums intended for sporting use, details of originality abound. Perhaps most extraordinary is the survival of the original factory lead seal around the fuel-tank filler neck, still in place from the time of delivery. In fact, we should also point out that the car clearly features a number of unique Swiss-market elements that are rarely seen – the dual point distributor as used on the late production Gullwings was clearly installed in light of Huwyler's relationships as a Mercedes-Benz dealer. The radiator has a special shroud that can be engaged for cold starts – no doubt specified for the Swiss market and colder Alpine climates.

All told, this is undoubtedly one of the best preserved and unrestored 300 SL Gullwings Broad Arrow Auctions has ever had the privilege of representing at auction. After well over 60 years in the ownership of only two families, it is a full matching numbers example presented from a particularly distinguished home, that only comes to the market in view of the advanced age of the owner. As they say, a car is only original once and as such the level of presentation on this car warrants very close attention from enthusiasts as this opportunity may be entirely unrepeatable.