This car, Lot 143, sold for $3,211,250, including buyer’s premium, at RM Sotheby’s Dubai, UAE auction, on March 8, 2024.
Only three of the 75 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss cars built have been imported into the U.S. They cross the block even less frequently than the coveted Ferrari 250 GTO. How, then, does one garner the honor of being an “expert” on this rarest-of-rare Mercedes supercar? In my case, it is having had the good fortune of driving one on the 2022 SCM 1000 AMG Invitational and being responsible for its ongoing care and feeding.
The car is as expected: a rocket ship in performance that gets reactions for its looks, not only from the informed but also the masses who are utterly befuddled by what it is. While the Stirling Moss can be driven sedately — it does have an automatic transmission — its Formula 1-based underpinnings beg for the open road, if not the track itself. Hang on to your hat and sunglasses, as these cars came with goggles and helmets for good reason.
McLaren-Mercedes mouthful
Collaborations lend themselves to long names, and this car is no exception. The line of SLR models is the direct result of the McLaren-Mercedes partnership in Formula 1 that began in 1995. McLaren Formula 1 cars used Mercedes power from 1995 to 2014, and again since 2021, with the contract recently negotiated through 2030. At one point, Mercedes-Benz owned 40% of the McLaren team.
The SLR was a celebration of the success of that partnership and used some of the emerging technology including brake-by-wire with carbon-ceramic discs and active aero. Chronologically speaking, it was the successor to the McLaren F1, and the cars were built by McLaren starting in 2003. A coupe and roadster were followed by an improved “722 Edition,” the name referring to the 1955 Mille Miglia winner co-driven by Stirling Moss.
His namesake model was designed by Yool Il-hun at Mercedes (who went on to design the W222 S-Class). The Stirling Moss uses the improved steering and springs from the 722 Edition, but is 441 pounds lighter, with a unique undertray that provides additional aerodynamic benefits. It also has custom carbon-fiber seats and forged-aluminum wheels unique to the model. There are no differences between the 2009 and 2010 model years. The Stirling Moss was to be the last of the SLR line after production of the coupe and roadster ended.
And it was, at least until McLaren decided it would build another 25-unit run in 2011, the MSO McLaren Edition. McLaren would go on to relaunch its road-car manufacturing operation with the MP4-12C, while Mercedes would follow up with the SLS AMG. The story of this partnership is long enough for its own feature, but in the end, you could say the Stirling Moss was instrumental in cutting the path for today’s McLaren. Indeed, the company would revisit the speedster concept with its 2021 Elva.
A class (nearly) by itself
Purchase of the Stirling Moss grants entrance into a particularly exclusive club. Relatively few modern supercars have been built with no windshield and no roof, thus bestowing a completely exposed driving experience. To state the obvious, this is a fair-weather car. The buffeting and wind noise at speed is no joke. Helmets with comms are required at anything more than urban-bicycle-commuting speed. Call it the Strong Neck and Helmet Lover’s Club.
The 2013 Lamborghini Aventador J and 2021 SC20 are the most exclusive roofless supercars, with only a single one of each design built. Other comparables include 88 Aston Martin V12 Speedsters and 149 McLaren Elvas. (It’s worth noting that McLaren must have learned something from its experience with the Stirling Moss, as the Elva has built-in aero to reduce the relentless buffeting.) There is also the contemporary Ferrari Monza, with 499 units split among two variants.
Over the past five years, we’ve seen only a handful of Stirling Moss cars cross the auction block. Artcurial sold serial number 56 for $2,969,475 at its 2019 Rétromobile sale in Paris (SCM# 6891355). Serial number 53 failed to sell on a $2.2m bid in November 2019 at an RM Sotheby’s sale (SCM# 6930896). RM Sotheby’s did offer serial number 55 in February 2023; however, it was in a sealed-bid auction. So, at about triple its original price, our subject car has effectively set the bar for the model here at $3.2m.
It has been a long road to realize that value. Since 2019, this car, serial number 66, went unsold three times, reaching a high bid of $1.7m at RM Sotheby’s Villa Erba in 2019 (SCM# 6906818) and $1.6m in an online RM Sotheby’s sale in 2020. At Artcurial’s 2023 Rétromobile, sale it was reported unsold at $2.9m. Our subject car is in a special-order color, the subtle difference of Crystal Antimon Gray versus the others in stock metallic silver. All cars are otherwise similarly equipped (even with mostly useless air conditioning) plus the carbon-fiber cockpit covers, custom tonneau and car covers.
The seller here seems to have made the right choice in waiting and refusing so many offers. Certainly, there are only a few people willing to pay what it takes to move these cars out of their current ownership. Since this car took multiple attempts to sell, at escalating bids, it has to be considered well sold at this final price. ♦
(Introductory description courtesy of RM Sotheby’s.)
