Meet the world's most expensive car priced at Rs 1100 crore, a rare 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR

Rumour has it that the legendary Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR “Uhlenhaut coupé” is sold in a secret auction beating the record of the 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO, making it the world's most expensive car.

Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR

Mercedes-Benz has broken the record of the most expensive car sold on the market by a huge margin. According to a UK-based website Hagerty, rumours are that the German carmaker has sold the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR “Uhlenhaut coupé” racing car for $142 million (around Rs 11,000 crore). The car is a treasure as the first motor car with Karl Benz’s Patent, Motorwagen of 1886. If the reports are confirmed, it would mean that the car has been sold as the most expensive car beating others by a huge margin. It is to be noted that the amount mentioned for the racing car's alternatively be used to buy a couple of Ferrari 250 GTOs, if ever on sale again, and a dozen of Lamborghini Aventador Ultimaes.

It is to be noted that all Ferrari 250 GTOs have already been sold out for $70 million each. Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR is one of the most valuable car models on earth as only two of these models were built in the 1950s, after which Mercedes retired from racing in 1955. They were given the moniker Uhlenhaut coupe after Rudolf Uhlenhaut, the head of the automaker's test department began driving one as his company car. Since then, Mercedes-Benz has been taking care of the car.

As per Hagerty, a secret auction is believed to have happened on behalf of Mercedes-Benz. The auction company offered only ten carefully chosen automobile collectors who were not only affluent enough to bid but also met the German car manufacturer's stringent qualifications.

The firm wanted to make sure that whoever took care of the Silver Arrows racing car treated it with the same care and attention that Mercedes did and that they would continue to share the car at events rather than selling it to a third party.

The car was based on the company`s successful W 196 R Grand Prix car, which won two World Championships with driver Juan Manuel Fangio. The 300 SLR had a larger, 3.0-liter engine and was able to reach 180 mph, making it one of the fastest road-legal cars at the time.