Lot Ended
Description
A handsome example of this classic German mile-muncher; recent
£6,200 spend; nice original navy hide interior; reversing camera; driven 60
miles to the sale; lots of car for little outlay
Launched in
1972, the 450SLC was a big bruiser of a car in the finest Mercedes tradition. It
was in its element charging down the fast lane of the autobahn, scaring the wits
out of English tourists by shooting past their weedy Allegros at almost double
their maximum speed.
About the only car ever to
be adapted from a roadster into a tin-top, it was based on the SL convertible
but was stretched 14 inches and had better handling thanks to its stiffer
structure. Indeed it proved just how tough it was by its impressive performance
in gruelling long distance rallies, including a win on the South America Rally
of 1978 and second place on the East Africa Safari.
The 450SLC was powered by a bomb-proof 4.5-litre V8 that produced
225bhp and 278lb/ft of torque and can still more than hold its own in today’s
traffic, with a 0-60 time of just 9 seconds and a top speed of
134mph.
First registered in London in August 1979
with the number LGO 780V, this fine looking 450SLC sadly comes with very little
history but from 2018 to 2023 it formed part of a collection of cars owned by a
Scottish gent (the car’s 6th owner) when it had the registration
number 3 SAC (now GDP 170V).
Invoices show that
in 2018 the car went to Merparts of Glasgow for a full technical report and
inspection. This resulted in a £6,200 spend although the bills are quite hard to
decipher, containing many part numbers. These parts included a front subframe
bush kit; front and rear propshaft couplings; various vacuum pipes; relays;
gearbox mountings; cam cover gaskets; new sunroof seals plus numerous other
items. The windscreen, dashboard and centre console were also removed to repair
the heater box. The car was also serviced, tuned and road tested, the mileage at
this point being 121,781 (now 124,476).
As you
can see in the photos, this big Coupe looks very handsome indeed with a nicely
mellowed original blue leather interior, refurbished alloys with a matching set
of new-ish looking Falken tyres and nice shiny light blue metallic paintwork
with just a few blemishes emerging here and there (as pictured).
The
electric windows and sunroof all work as they should, as does the Blaupunkt
radio/cassette, and it also has a reversing camera neatly installed at the top
of the rear windscreen which projects onto the rear-view mirror when reverse is
engaged.
Documents include the current and previous V5Cs, owner's
handbook; Haynes manual plus one old MOT issued with no advisories in May 2019
when it was showing 121,669 miles. Classed as a Historic Vehicle, it is now free
to tax and MOT-exempt. It has two sets of keys and it does have a spare
wheel which is on its way to us and should be here in time for the auction,
along with a walnut centre console section which fills the radio
aperture if the stereo is removed.
Driven
some 60 miles to the sale, the vendor states that it drives beautifully and it
has certainly been starting promptly and running very sweetly indeed as we have
moved it around on site, with healthy oil pressure and a discreet V8 burble from
the twin exhausts. It even has half a tank of fuel.
On offer here at a very attractive guide price, this impressive hunk
of German engineering is a truly usable classic that will turn heads wherever it
goes.
For more information contact James on
07970 309907 or email james.dennison@brightwells.com
* All charges are subject to VAT