300 SL “Gullwing” Twins Found, Displayed at Amelia Island

Whether food, cars, my house, or anything else, I love my modern comforts; from being able to set my air conditioning and heating to whatever temperature I like, adaptive cruise control to make highway driving a breeze, or MB UX integration so that I can place an order, schedule a haircut, or call my family through voice control, all these features make my life easier. But something about the Mercedes Star featured on classic vehicles always gets me excited.

There’s a character to these timeless vehicles, captured in their vintage interiors, retro exteriors, and the same Mercedes Star be it a 1960s or 2020 vehicle. And apparently Mercedes feels the same way, as they just recently acquired two classic 1954 300 SL Gullwings with successive serial numbers, one of which was supposedly acquired by Mercedes for just under $1,000,000. Originally sold for only $6,900 base, restored Gullwings can go for upwards of $1.3 million.

A barnyard find for No. 43 of the 300 SL, it was originally shipped to Miami in 1954, and has since spent its life in Jacksonville, between three owners including a lawyer for Winn-Dixie who eventually raced it, his mechanic who also continued racing it, and finally a naval pilot who eventually went off to law school. He began work on the vehicle sometime between 1957 and 1965, and then it was left to collect dust; the last time based on the license plate this vehicle was driven was 1965, with an odometer that reads 35,308 miles only.

Although covered in dust, No. 43 is in almost perfect condition. The only issues spotted were a slightly dented rear end, and some MIA engine bits, the vehicle has been brought down to the primer as it’s last owner had intended to repaint it at one point. Now it’s been shipped off to the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in Irvine, California, where they’ll reassemble anything that needs reassembling and bring it back to a (slightly still dusty) life, to go on display at the next Concours d’Elegance just down the road from where it was found, next to its sibling No. 44.