This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity. This is an incredibly original and important garage find. We are offering a 1958 Mercedes 300SL Roadster that was reputed to be the Paris Show car and then used for years as a rally car. It retains its excellent performing original matching numbers engine.

This roadster was said to have been ordered for the Shaw of Iran, but he never took delivery. It was then used by Mercedes as a display car during the Paris Auto Show and was then acquired by its first owner. The roadster was converted for rally use with full rally instrumentation and a roll bar, all still in tact and installed in the car. The original owner then gave the roadster to his son. In about 1973, the roadster was imported into the US and was continued to be owned and enjoyed by him in California.

In about 1986, the roadster was offered by the son to its present owner. They had attended school together and he had always been smitten with the stunning looks and performance. Since 1986, the roadster has been garaged and used only occasionally in Arizona. It has never been shown or displayed. The owner has a long history of owning and enjoying performance cars and assembled an impressive collection. But this roadster was generally kept separately and not viewed by many people. It was kept below the radar. The existing 1960’s era Michelin X tires are extremely old and reflect the lack of accumulated miles on the car. These are shown in the photo gallery.

It is now in remarkably wonderful original condition. The roadster has between 8 and 11 mils of paint, meaning is has generally one repaint over the original paint. The paint is in very nice condition and could benefit from some touch up and wet sanding. The chrome has some minor pitting as shown in the photo gallery. There are no dents or other similar issues anywhere on the car. The panel fitment is very good and using a body filler detector there is only a moderate amount of filler in portions of the doors and the lower rocker panels. One could easily improve the present paint or it would make for an easy repaint.

The interior is a beautiful example of an original red leather interior. The seat leather is still very supple and soft and without significant cracking. The interior chrome is very nice and major detailing would make a wonderful difference. The tonneau cover and soft top are both in very nice condition. These are also shown in the photo gallery.

The rally gauges are absolutely stunning. The auxiliary rally odometer, altimeter, barometer and the stopwatch are all original and fantastic. The cars main original odometer shows 2,131 km, which is likely the accumulated use when the rally gauges were installed in Paris, rendering the speedometers original odometer non-functional.

According to the owner, the matching numbers engine was shipped to and rebuilt by Mercedes-Benz at the factory and then reinstalled here in the US. It has accumulated little use since then. Today, the engine fires right up and sounds excellent. It displays excellent oil pressure and does not emit smoke. It has not been driven for the past year or two because of failing health of the owner.

There appear to be a couple of small trim pieces missing. None are very consequential. The roadster had fitted luggage which is no longer with the car.

The car can be inspected and viewed only with a good faith deposit. Additional details will be available at that time. This is very likely a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire a very significant 300SL roadster with incredible provenance. For more details and information, please call or text Harry Clark at +1.602.245.7200 or email us at harry@classicpromenade.com. There is only one 300SL like this in the world. If this is a good fit for your collection, don’t wait.