£80k for an immaculate 1959 190SL at Amelia Island ??

[MikeInWimbledon]

OK, is it just me, or was this a curious bargain for "just" £80k ?

RM Sotheby's - 1959 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL | Amelia Island 2020

 

[chrisk2010]

Nice!

 

[grober]

This was perhaps Mercedes first attempt at "AMG badging" of a fairly mundane product. Trading on more than a passing resemblance to its more esoteric space framed fuel injected straight 6 300SL brethern the 190 was based a lowly carburetted 4 cylinder engine mounted in a pressed steel platform derived from a contemporary saloon - albeit immaculately finished. Putting it another way, rather than a scaled down performance model -it was a scaled up saloon. Performance was "muted"and possibly for that reason the car has never realised the iconic status of its elder brethern. On a passing note its difficult to judge scale/size of these immacculately presented cars without a modern equivalent in shot for comparison. Suffice to say it was midway between an MGB and a R107 so not quite so "majestic " in the metal as the pictures might imply.
STILL NICE MIND.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Agreed, I was thinking that £80k seemed a curious price compared to the ones at Arthur Bechtel in Stuttgart, which has been rolling these out at a steady £180k (200k Euros) a pop for a few years now. (see photo and link below)

Very pretty cars, but nowhere near as impressive as the 300 SL, and horrible compared to any modern car. (e.g. 0-60 in 13 seconds)

A piece of art rather than something to drive.

190 SL Roadster 1958

 

[BTB 500]

Having seen the Amelia Island auctions on 'Chasing Classic Cars' that sale price does seem low to me. They are beautiful looking cars, and I'd have thought the performance (lack of it!) would be largely academic to many prospective buyers.

 

[Wolfie1]

Let me guess, this is a fake amg too (sigh) or does this 1 count because the engine was handbuilt

 

[E55BOF]

Let me guess, this is a fake amg too (sigh) or does this 1 count because the engine was handbuilt

I think you've misunderstood Grober's point.

 

[Deleted member 11979]

This was perhaps Mercedes first attempt at "AMG badging" of a fairly mundane product. Trading on more than a passing resemblance to its more esoteric space framed fuel injected straight 6 300SL brethern the 190 was based a lowly carburetted 4 cylinder engine mounted in a pressed steel platform derived from a contemporary saloon - albeit immaculately finished. Putting it another way, rather than a scaled down performance model -it was a scaled up saloon. Performance was "muted"and possibly for that reason the car has never realised the iconic status of its elder brethern. On a passing note its difficult to judge scale/size of these immacculately presented cars without a modern equivalent in shot for comparison. Suffice to say it was midway between an MGB and a R107 so not quite so "majestic " in the metal as the pictures might imply.
STILL NICE MIND.

Very interesting, I’d not realised that, mutton dressed as lamb put I reckon I could put up with one!

 

[clk208]

I saw one in a traffic jam in Manchester about 20 years ago.

Roof down, in white looked good to me at the time. I seem to recall checking the prices of them at the time and saw one for sale at £20k or thereabouts.

Gone up a bit in price like most classics I guess.

 

[SL300-24]

One of the prettiest Mercedes ever IMHO

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

It's a curious thing. I mentioned Arthur Bechtel earlier.

He always has a dozen perfectly restored 190SL's for sale at 200,000 Euros. All in fabulous order. (To my mind "too" good because they're renovated to better than new)

I have no idea of how, or where, they get renovated, or who buys them. Peculiar things.

If anyone knows the back story, I'd love to know.

Here's his website: Mercedes-Benz Classics

 

[Teego]

Watch prices dive as the plague advances. Value of collectible cars is only what the market is prepared to pay on any given day. The only inherent worth is scrap or spares. Mainly scrap.
If your investments are tanking and your income is shrinking who needs a Big Swinging D*** car?

 

[gaz_l]

A friend of mine had one; he said it was lovely to look at, but not very nice to drive. He hung on to it for a while, but in the end he was just glad to get rid of it and not lose any money.

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[grober]

Lots of W121 "RESTO" videos on the 'tube.
here's a couple of engine ones

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Note the 3 branch exhaust manifold [ siamesed centre exhaust port a la BMC A series]

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[grober]

A little detail on the 190 Solex 44PHH carburettors. On first glance they look like a twin choke like the Weber DCOE where both barrels open simultaneously but they are in fact a progressive design where the primary choke is opened mechanically via the throttle cable/lever but the secondary is only opened by manifold vacuum after sufficient engine rpm /demand. Some early Alfa Romeos also used a version of these carbs evidently?
https://www.190slgroup.com/tech/images3/solex-p44.pdf
Carburetor (sand casting) | Mercedes-Benz 190SL w121.040