If an automobile find is exciting enough to pique the interest of Jay Leno, there’s not a much better indicator that something special is going on, especially when the car sold at auction for nearly $10 million. That’s the case with this 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL, as the high bidder shelled out $9,355,000 here, and making things more interesting is the fact that this one spent nearly half a century in a junkyard! In a recent episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, the auto connoisseur explored this beauty and explained to his viewers what makes this one such an exciting find, so let’s dig in and see what’s so special here.
Once Jay gets into details, it doesn’t take long to realize that there are numerous reasons people came from all over the world to compete for this car, with this one appealing to both Mercedes collectors and those into racing history as well. He describes this as the rarest Mercedes Gullwing ever discovered, and says it’s one of only 29 produced with the lightweight alloy aluminum body, making it a real competitor. The previous owner was a man named Rudi Klein, a junkyard owner and auto collector in Los Angeles, who paid $30,000 for this 300SL in 1976. The car was complete back then, and it’s the only example that’s never been restored, just put away for almost the last 50 years. At some point, the exterior was painted silver, but Jay hopes that layer can be stripped off to reveal the original black finish underneath.
Jay thinks of this as the first true supercar, partly because he states that the 6-cylinder here was the first engine to use fuel injection in a car. It was mechanical back then, but some fine German engineering for the mid-fifties period, resulting in a potent 240 horsepower. Leno points out how every nut and bolt under the hood is still in place just as it left the factory, and confirms that the Mercedes was still running at the time Mr. Klein acquired it in ’76. He also doesn’t think it would take very much to get this one going again.
The red interior is still in remarkable condition, says Leno, which he finds surprising considering it probably hasn’t been all that well-cared-for. Before 1976, the car is said to have remained 100% complete, but the missing shifter knob brings up a mystery. Throughout the years, Rudi sold a few parts from the car, such the bumpers, one headlight assembly, and the previously mentioned knob from inside. He even backed into the Mercedes with a forklift while it was in his salvage yard, which is how the dent got put into the back panel.
This Mercedes has been stored inside Jay’s garage until the new owner is ready to move the car to his home, where he hopes to get it running, gently taken apart, cleaned, restored, and put back together, then shifting his focus to preservation. Once this is completed, Jay hints that perhaps he will be invited to go for a ride in the future, then share that experience with us in an upcoming episode. For now, you can watch his entire video here on YouTube, which showcases the Gullwing in its present condition. Any thoughts or observations on this nearly ten-million-dollar, unrestored, alloy-body 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL?
Sweet!! My bid was not even close to that. It was a salvage yard here in Los Angeles on Almeda.
10 million for 1 car… Must be nice…
October 1962, I was sitting in a 1957-58 Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing at Competition Motors at London Ontario Canada when the owner came and said “you can’t afford that,get out” so I went 2 blocks over to Easttown Chev Olds with my Father and bought a new ’63 Chev SS Convertible for,I think, $2700.0v0. I love my Chev.and so did my future wife of 60 years this August 7th.
I also was privileged to be allowed to sit in 300 SL in Tuscon, AZ in 1971. I was also allowed to drive a 1961 Chrysler 300G in the same year. That 300 G had been modified with a water faucet installed in the rear seat console that had a hose leading into the trunk! That was when you might see an AC Cobra or two there on Speedway Ave. Those were the days!
Truly unique. Nice to see it preserved, regardless of what someone chose to spend on it.
Steve R
I was prepared to go $9,750,000.00 until I notice the missing shifter knob, and no a/c.
This feature is a bit confusing to me.Does Leno own
this car?He doesn’t seem to be interested in selling any of
his cars,unless he has multiples of them.
No, Jay Leno did not purchase the car. I’m sure he was capable. For now he is just storing it until the new owner picks it up. Surprised Jay didn’t buy it though.
I believe that the article states that Jay is storing the car for the owner until that new owner is ready to take possession physically and move it to a restoration shop.
One mans junk (yard auto) is another’s treasure.😎
This just goes to show many unique cars are out there to be discovered .
Love to se it restored and Jay taking a test drive!
Ahoi
The first cars with fuel injection were the Goliath GP 700 Sport-Coupé and the Gutbrod Superior 700 E . This was 1951. The first Mercedes racingcars were 1953 with fuel injection.
I was 18 years old and going back and forth from Tacome to UW in 1965, and there was a small car lot near the BMC dealer by the Space Needle. He had 2 of these on his lot and was asking 1500.00 for either one. Who knows if one or both might have been aluminum body versions. I remember sitting in them and opening the hood like I was some sort of serious buyer rather than a dorky dreamer. The guy was pretty nice, knowing I didn’t have any money. Later that year I joined the throngs working for the “Lazy B” at 2.46 per hour and scraped together 400.00 to buy an XK 140 OTS that needed some work.
Actually to the best of my knowledge the first engine that used fuel injection was the “Antoinette” V8 of the early 1900s:
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/know-your-enginesthe-story-and-evolution-of-the-first-v8-198620.html
Shoehorn in a hemi, then pick up a couple of hot girls in a broken down Countach.
Yippie for Jay Leno.
This car is probably worth more than the entire junkyard!
Not the junk yard it came from. This site did a feature in it several months ago, prior to the auction, what they had rat holed away was full of amazing finds like this.
Steve R
Yep, ole Rudi was a visionary for sure, with opportunity and he definitely made the most of it …
Jack , I think you missed the part about the Junk yard being in LA .The real estate is likely worth multiples of this car .
Time to buy more lottery tickets I guess…
Only worth what someone is willing to pay. Wait til he gets the restoration bill.
“only worth what someone is willing to pay ”
I nominate this as the frequently used, most useless comment on the internet .
Thank you–indeed an overused, stupid cliche.
Doesn’t mean it ain’t true.
For some, what others find extravagant at $100., others find extravagant at $10000.
Coming of age in Norfolk Va. and developing car spotting abilities, USN officers had the best foreign cars. One fall day in 1968, leaving school and getting on the highway I spotted to my total astonishment a Gullwing ahead in traffic. No garage queen back then, it disappeared rapidly. It’s always thrilling to see great cars driven as they are meant to be.
I’ve only viewed two of these Gullwings in person twice. 1st at the Minnesota State Fair in 1956. 2nd in 1974 while stationed at the USNA in Annapolis. A Marine Major happened to own one. It was Silver like this one.
I’ve only viewed two of these Gullwings in person twice. 1st at the Minnesota State Fair in 1956. 2nd in 1974 while stationed at the USNA in Annapolis. A Marine Major happened to own one. It was Silver like this one.
Commenting to get updates. I’m happy that people exist with enough money to buy cars like this and will spend whatever it takes to preserve them. Otherwise most real classic cars would have been crushed or hot rodded by now. When this car gets restored it probably will only see daylight occasionally at elite invitational shows and have a crew of caretakers to maintain it. It would be a source of pride to own it but it’s not something I would want, even if I had the means to buy it. Gull Wing Cars like this have been expensive for a long time so it surprises me that someone let it sit in a junk yard like they did, and even sell parts off of it. I usually say GLWTS but in this case obviously both the buyer and seller have had some good luck so I hope it continues for you.
Our neighbor had one when I was a kid in the 1950’s. He offered to sell it to me for 50cents if I had that in my pocket. I was 5, so I couldn’t swing the deal. LOL later, dad came over to look at the car and the owner and dad went out for a ride!
Rumor was that one of these bearing used to tear up the Jersey Turnpike in the wee small hours back in the day and it took a pair of NJSP Chrysler 300 “cruisers” at 120 to get the guy and escort him off at the next exit. Of course, he just waited until the fuzz disappeared and he was back on the NJTPK at full chat.
Something got lost in the post. Should have read, “bearing diplomatic plates.”
Is this Rudi Klein still alive? I’d be curious to find out how an individual could be such an astute collector and investor, who would spend $30k on a car in 1976 and then sell the bumpers and the shift knob off this beauty.
Rudi passed away a year or so ago. That is why everything in his junkyard was auctioned.
I don’t possess any inside info per se- other than I operated an automotive business in the 80s-‘90s that included an auto salvage yard. Just because something is missing, doesn’t mean that it was sold. Many, many parts are stolen and spirited away- night and day. One of my employees drove an old Mercedes sedan. A “customer” asked him if he’d sell a part off of his car. He replied that he couldn’t sell parts off of the car because he was driving it home after work. When he went out to the parking lot to head home, the part had been stolen, in the parking lot, in broad daylight.
I live in Sonoma Ca and do a circuit of the historic Plaza every morning to get my newspaper and see what cars might be around.I was driving my 56 Porsche A Outlaw a couple of years ago and saw TWO gullwings parked with their owners chatting.They waved as I went by and parked meeting me halfway up the sidewalk.:”We know what your looking at ,” they laughed.One Gullwing was totally restored and one was original and quite beaten uo and they told me they were on a road trip to Oregon.I just love that.I hope this one gets enjoyed like that in its original condition..
I’d put an LS in it
You would put an LS in it and ruin it.
You’d drive it and really ruin it, it was a friggin joke for Hey-Zeus’s sake. Anyway it’s sort of an ugly car
Frank, you may be joking but there are people out there that would LS it. I think the nose is nice looking, the back not as much, but for the day, the back view is decent.
Rudi Klein’s “junk” in his junkyard netted over $29,600,000. Astonishing.
Thanks for posting the total. It makes you wonder how much was genious of foresight and how much was dumb luck, when did the two converge.
Steve R
Grew up in a very small Ohio town, where a gentleman of German decent owned a small meat processing plant. He drove a Mercedes Gullwing Coupe, and one of my best friends uncle maintained it for him in his small local garage. Got to look at it many times when in his shop – always have wondered what happened to it.
Don’t believe everything you hear in passing. I read in more than one outlet it’s $400 million in its already custom state, $20 billion is nearly the cost of 2 newly completed air craft carriers.
This is a troll, Boeing was at least 5 years behind schedule, the contract was signed in 2018, deliveries was set for 2024 and had been delayed to at least 2029. The “gift” will not likely be allowed, but will light a fire under Boeing to get to deliver the plane quicker. Just like purchasing Greenland, turning Canada into the 51st state and reopening Alcatraz, all of which are ridiculous with 30 second of thought, it drives some people crazy.
Steve R
I would prefer that too, the problem is we keep electing people, from both parties, that behave in this manner.
Steve R
I had a teacher who drove a yellow one when I was in 8th grade in ;62-’63. Don’t know what year it was.
Pretty sure that the Crawford Auto museum in Cleveland Ohio has an unrestored gull wing which they never display
If I am not mistaken, when the Crawford collection was housed at or near East 22nd and Chester Ave in an old Auto Dealership building a car similar to this was parked outside in the rear along with maybe 50 other old makes waiting for restoration or sale. They were under a roofed-over lean-to open front garage. Imagine that! After my graduation from Fenn College / Cleveland State in the mid ‘60’s I did not revisit the building and subsequently I found out that the collection (or at least the cars that weren’t sold) wound up at University Circle! I have not been to the museum for at least 25 years so maybe one more time sometime soon. Ray Kudlak Ex NJ, LINY, NC and now Columbus, OH
This brings back an old memory. I was a senior in high school (1966) and was working in a gas station. There was a doctor that was a friend of the owner of the gas station. He had a dark green gullwing with a plaid interior and the matching luggage. It was parked at the gas station with a for sale sign on it. He wanted $3500.00 for it. Who knew?
Along with my ’63 Chev SS convertible,’61 Olds Starfire Convertible,’37 Chev coupe,’70 Olds 442,which I bought from my brother,’68 Olds Toronado,’87 Mustang convertible and a few others that I wish I had today,who knew.
Yes, who knew….but….who had the resources and space to keep those soon to be classics? I certainly didn’t until much later in life.
Many times I think back to the good times we had in the ’60’s,’70’s driving along next to a few beaches with my top down,my wife sitting next to me as we toured Lake Huron and surrounding area stopping to fish on local creeks or rivers. Great memories.
You’d need to sweep it for bugs before it was used, if it were used for official business. Given that there’s already an available aeroplane for government business, you have to wonder why the offer of a shiny blingy new one would be approved by the government. Does the President have the ability to overrule the government with regard to this?
Oh aye, the Merc. Unrestored is probably worth more than restored, if all the lightweights still exist. I like them in dark colours rather than silver.
I come to this wonderful site get away from politics.
Well, I’ve had one parked in my driveway and I at least rode in it, maybe 35 years ago!
I too have regrets for ones that got away, but back then they were just cars with presumably better ones on the horizon. The phrases: “Who knew?, You can’t keep them all, and Baby on the way” come to mind.
So if he paid ten million in that condition,what is it worth in perfect condition???
I’m very late to responding. Back in ’80 or ’80 while working for my father, we stopped at an independent Mercedes repair facility in Houston TX to buy shock for the family 240D. I want to say the place was called Helmut Holger (owner’s name). Stored in the shop were two 300SLs, an SSK, and a couple of other prewar Mercedes that I did not immediately recognize. I’d love to go back in time to see the cars again.