Sold at $47,300Gooding & Company Geared OnlineAugust 3–7, 2020, Lot 54 Chassis number: WDBJH65J1YB094941SCM Condition for this car: 2 This one-off Mercedes-Benz E320 pickup, commissioned by a Mercedes dealer and built by historically important Mercedes coachbuilding affiliate Binz, was sold through Gooding & Company’s Geared Online auction platform for $47,300. This just eight months after earning $30,800 at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale. If you feel you missed out on the chance to own this car/truck before the big run-up in Stuttgart Ranchero prices, know that there are other Mercedes-Benz pickups out there. While it might seem like a strange concept, Mercedes pickups were […]
Sold at $47,300
Gooding & Company Geared Online
August 3–7, 2020, Lot 54
Chassis number: WDBJH65J1YB094941
SCM Condition for this car: 2
This one-off Mercedes-Benz E320 pickup, commissioned by a Mercedes dealer and built by historically important Mercedes coachbuilding affiliate Binz, was sold through Gooding & Company’s Geared Online auction platform for $47,300. This just eight months after earning $30,800 at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale.
If you feel you missed out on the chance to own this car/truck before the big run-up in Stuttgart Ranchero prices, know that there are other Mercedes-Benz pickups out there. While it might seem like a strange concept, Mercedes pickups were part of the developing world immediately after World War II. In Argentina and South Africa, pickup variants of the W136 (170D, 1948–55), W120 (180 and 180D, 1955–63) and the W115 (220D, 1968–76) were sold in respectable quantities. A Google search for “Mercedes 220D pickups” will leave you utterly fascinated.
Equally intriguing are the “universals,” wagons built on the ponton and fintail platforms by carrosseries IMC and Binz. Of course, we can’t forget the 1970s and 80s, when British firm Crayford built station wagons on the W116 and W126 S-class platforms.
While all of these cars are rare in the U.S., if this bizarre but noteworthy E320 piqued your interest in a trucklet that will leave everyone at your local Cars & Coffee utterly confused, there are plenty of even weirder and more desirable variants that could benefit from new homes. The good news is that most of them are less expensive than our slightly well-sold subject car, though restoration costs will vary.
It’s hard to say whether this will prove to be a smart buy. The person who commissioned this unusual vehicle certainly did not come out on top, although the Gooding seller has to be thrilled. This sale proves that, even in our shaky COVID-19 market, something that is totally weird, different and unrepeatable can find an enthusiastic home. ♦
