SL shop R107 SportLine Zero EV at the NEC tomorrow. A £200k EV conversion for... £50k ?

[MikeInWimbledon]

 

[ToeKnee]

Strangely I just looked at entry prices to go the classic show for a few hours tomorrow, parking and entry is almost £60 just for myself! Maybe I'm out on prices but I think that's too much.

 

[Will]

IMHO that would be a bargain if it sold for £50k I reckon it will easily surpass that guide price but that’s just my guess

I suspect that the title of this thread is a little misleading, as I doubt the £200k was on the EV conversion - I would think restoration costs would also cover a huge chunk of that amount.

In other words, how much would the SL shop want to rebuild a regular R107 ‘from the ground up’?

There’s a lot of money there in chassis repairs, bodywork, paint, trim, soft top, suspension and all the other mechanicals etc.

Again I think £50k would be a bargain

 

[Darrell]

Strangely I just looked at entry prices to go the classic show for a few hours tomorrow, parking and entry is almost £60 just for myself! Maybe I'm out on prices but I think that's too much.

I went in 2019 with my matey who has the Integrale. It’s an expensive day out.

 

[Will]

I’ve been a few times but not for a number of years now.

Never remember it being this expensive, I suspect there’s some deals available if you’re keen rather than paying the full advertised price on the door.

I think there was a flyer with a discount with one of the MB Club magazines a couple of months back?

It’s always a cold rainy dark time of year and the show is a nice break as it’s all indoors

 

[BTB 500]

I suspect that the title of this thread is a little misleading, as I doubt the £200k was on the EV conversion - I would think restoration costs would also cover a huge chunk of that amount.

Yes agreed. The company behind the recent TV series 'Vintage Voltage' quote £30k-£100k for the electric conversion, depending size and requirements (range & performance). IIRC they mostly use Tesla components:

Electric Classic Cars | The World's Largest Converter of Classic Cars

Welcome to Electric Classic Cars™, the world's largest converter of classic cars to electric.

www.electricclassiccars.co.uk

 

[Will]

Yes agreed. The company behind the recent TV series 'Vintage Voltage' quote £30k-£100k for the electric conversion, depending size and requirements (range & performance). IIRC they mostly use Tesla components:

Electric Classic Cars | The World's Largest Converter of Classic Cars

Welcome to Electric Classic Cars™, the world's largest converter of classic cars to electric.

www.electricclassiccars.co.uk

View attachment 149324

View attachment 149323

I’d think it wouldn’t be too difficult to spend the same sort of figure again on a ground up restoration (and there’s your ‘nearly £200k’!)

As with almost anything like this (restoration or modification) you’ll be lucky to get back even half of what you spend!

 

[BTB 500]

As with almost anything like this (restoration or modification) you’ll be lucky to get back even half of what you spend!

There's a spin-off series related to 'Bangers & Cash' where the TV crew buys a car (or motorbike) at the Mathewsons auction, gets it done up, then brings it back to be auctioned again. I've watched quite a few episodes and don't recall any where they made money. In fact it's quite common for the restored car to sell for approximately what they paid for it originally! Obviously they are often paying over the odds for them to start with, which doesn't help!

Bangers & Cash: Restoring Classics | Mathewsons | Classic Car Auctions in North Yorkshire

Mathewsons | Bangers and Cash: Restoring Classics TV Series

www.mathewsons.co.uk

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

As if an Auctioneer would ever be misleading in a description....

Well, first you've got the donor car... Which is difficult to price because you're wanting the carcass but not the engine, gearbox, controls, wiring, yada, yada.

(A friend bought a cheap R107 a while back but came unstuck when he realised that most of the wiring loom was turning to dust. From out of nowhere came a whole wiring loom replacement project on a car which was already "problematic" with rust and dodgy body repairs)

Then there's the conversion kit.

And then the bodywork repairs and respray.

Here's the whole story - originally proposed in 2020 by SL Shop, and then written up and documented by the SL Shop in 2022. Same number plate etc etc.

Project webpage here: SportLine ZERO - The SLSHOP

But... who wants an EV R107 ? With a manual gearbox?

The problem is not whether it's "worth it," its whether you can find two bidders who have money and who want to argue about it.

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[Dickster]

Yes agreed. The company behind the recent TV series 'Vintage Voltage' quote £30k-£100k for the electric conversion, depending size and requirements (range & performance). IIRC they mostly use Tesla components:

Electric Classic Cars | The World's Largest Converter of Classic Cars

Welcome to Electric Classic Cars™, the world's largest converter of classic cars to electric.

www.electricclassiccars.co.uk

View attachment 149324

View attachment 149323

Personally, I think this company sums up the whole ev madness perfectly. £50k to remove the soul of a lovely classic car, and you get a whopping 100 mile range for your hard earned, wow

Each to their own I guess.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Personally, I think this company sums up the whole ev madness perfectly. £50k to remove the soul of a lovely classic car, and you get a whopping 100 mile range for your hard earned, wow

Amen

And they’ve seen the wisdom, and the value, of their decision.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Converting beautiful and sometime rare cars to EV's....hanging is too good for these people....If you want an EV fine, you have plenty of choice, go and buy one....no need to tear up classics to build a silent soulless Frankenstein monstrosity. Many of which are apparently near uninsurable and due to the extensive mods no longer qualify as classics (historics) so need Mots, tax etc.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Converting beautiful and sometime rare cars to EV's....hanging is too good for these people....If you want an EV fine, you have plenty of choice, go and buy one....no need to tear up classics to build a silent soulless Frankenstein monstrosity. Many of which are apparently near uninsurable and due to the extensive mods no longer qualify as classics (historics) so need Mots, tax etc.

Got to forgive this one because it is Sam Bailey, who has done so much to keep SL’s not just on the road but in near original condition.

As for the mods, at least we’ve got away from all those 1990’s style mods and wings which made big Mercs so “Gangsta.”

Can’t get too worried about the MoT thing for this era. Might be right to have that get out for 1960’s or ‘40’s vehicles but is it such a difficult thing for things like this which can cruise at 100mph?

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

So embarrassing. I highlighted this wretched thing 18 months ago when it sold at Bonhams in July 2022.

Shocking price for a 1971 Mercedes-Benz 350 SL 'SportLine Zero' Electric Convertible | Spotted on eBay!

It sold for £39,100. The owner's done 500 miles in it.

Bonhams Cars : 1971 Mercedes-Benz 350 SL 'SportLine Zero' Electric Convertible Chassis no. 107043 22 011980

 

[Will]

So embarrassing. I highlighted this wretched thing 18 months ago when it sold at Bonhams in July 2022.

Shocking price for a 1971 Mercedes-Benz 350 SL 'SportLine Zero' Electric Convertible | Spotted on eBay!

It sold for £39,100. The owner's done 500 miles in it.

Bonhams Cars : 1971 Mercedes-Benz 350 SL 'SportLine Zero' Electric Convertible Chassis no. 107043 22 011980

I do recall reading something about this conversion a while back, but surprised how little it sold for in 2022.

To me it’s an absolute bargain at this sort of money. I’d buy it if I had a spare £40/50k lying around

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I do recall reading something about this conversion a while back, but surprised how little it sold for in 2022.

To me it’s an absolute bargain at this sort of money. I’d buy it if I had a spare £40/50k lying around

Assuming it drives OK…

Which it might not do, given that the “current” owner has probably only put 20 miles a month on it, in addition to driving it back from Bonhams and out to be sold at Birmingham…

 

[Darrell]

I rather like the idea tbh.

 

[Will]

Assuming it drives OK…

Which it might not do, given that the “current” owner has probably only put 20 miles a month on it, in addition to driving it back from Bonhams and out to be sold at Birmingham…

It’s a fair point, and I was going to post earlier and qualify my earlier post regards this car along the lines of ‘if it’s as good in the flesh as it looks/sound’ going from the pictures and description.

But yes, it sounds like a great car, obviously none of us will know what it drives like. The comments from Q. Wilson are encouraging but of course I understand the scepticism.

I’d still take a punt @ £50k though

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Well, someone got it for £45k

“And why not?”

 

[BTB 500]

Well, someone got it for £45k

I think that's the hammer price though, in which case the buyer actually paid £51,750 (commission at that auction was 15% incl. VAT).