The most expensive car ever sold.

Ask anyone what the most expensive car ever is, and a majority will confidently say it’s the Ferrari 250 GTO. In 2018, chassis 4153GT was sold for $70 million in a private sale, a record at the time, and somehow that stuck with most people as the all-time record holder.

But a few will disagree, and mention… the Mercedes-Benz Uhlenhaut Coupé.
Not only did it sell for more, it sold for twice that price: €135 million.

Ever since that sale I’ve been longing to shoot it – not just because of its price but for its remarkable history just as well – and this year I finally managed to tick it off my list.

After shooting the Mercedes-Benz CLR at the Nationales Automuseum last year, their PR manager asked what else was at the top of my list, and I mentioned the Uhlenhaut. Little did I know, he was a former corporate comms. manager at Mercedes-Benz AG, and he promised to reach out to the right people.

The remaining Uhlenhaut Coupé resides at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, and after some back and forth about requirements and practicals (the museum would have to be closed), we managed to set a date.

So on a beautiful summer evening in May this year, I found myself walking into the MB Museum for the first time ever, accompanied by their media manager. After a short and surreal tour (it was empty after all), I then laid eyes on the Uhlenhaut Coupé, shining brightly amidst a handful of other legendary cars.

I took off my shoes, got my gear out and started shooting.

The Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (Sport, Leicht, Rennen) was an incredibly dominant race car in its hay day, winning the 1955 Mille Miglia with a 1-2 (Stirling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio), as well as the Targa Florio.

That same year, it was just as dominant at Le Mans, before disaster struck. Pierre Levegh’s 300 SLR went airborne and smashed into the crowd, leaving more than 80 people dead. By far the deadliest racing disaster to this day.

Of the nine total 300 SLRs built, two were actually coupes, intended to drive in the Carrera Panamericana. Understandably however, Mercedes-Benz retired from racing for decades after Le Mans, and the two coupes suddenly had no purpose.

The 300 SLR was designed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut, Mercedes-Benz’ design chief and father of the road legal 300 SL Gullwing. He adored the SLR coupes, and when it became clear they wouldn’t race, he adopted them as his personal company cars.

Famously, he was late for a meeting once and managed to drive it from Munich to Stuttgart in just over an hour (a trip that roughly takes 2.5 hours in a modern car today).

Design-wise, the Uhlenhaut Coupé is a hybrid of the 300 SLR and the 300 SL Gullwing. While the body and exterior have strong hints of the SL (including the signature gullwing doors), the internals are without a doubt those of the 300 SLR with its straight-8 racing engine. The front portion of the body is clearly based on the SLR as well.

In 2022 Mercedes-Benz decided to auction off one of their Uhlenhauts, in order to fund their new Mercedes-Benz Foundation. It was expected to sell for a lot of money, but €135 million was beyond all estimates.

Fortunately, this Uhlenhaut Coupé is not going anywhere.

I’ll forever be grateful to Florian and Fleur for making it happen, and having the huge privilege of roaming in the museum in the dark!

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