Among certain parts of the car hobby, there are loyal followers and collectors of the world’s so-called homologation cars. These are vehicles that manufacturers produce in limited batches to sell to the public to essentially certify that the car being used in a professional racing series is the same basic vehicle a consumer could buy out of the showroom. Although not a common practice today, it was fairly normal in the 70s and 80s for major automakers to sell a few hundred or thousand cars to the public in support of a racing program. The 1979 Mercedes-Benz 450SL 5.0 listed here on eBay is an exceedingly rare car, listed for $49,000.

Believe it or not, Mercedes wanted to go rallying in the 70s and 80s, and it used the C107 model as the way to do it. It was a strange sight to see a heavy, luxury-focused coupe tearing up some of the worst roads in the most far-flung places, but it turns out the 450SLC was actually quite capable. Its best asset was its durability and reliability, rarely encountering a mechanical fault that couldn’t be repaired on the side of the road. The best asset of the car, however, was its stunning all-aluminum 117 V8 engine that 240 b.h.p. and weighed in at 88 pounds under the iron-block version of the same engine.

In terms of reliability, Mercedes’ success with the SLC at the World Rally Championship should be measured not only on the stoutness of the drivetrain but on the depth of support services the company had at its disposal. In addition to running a small fleet of SLCs, Mercedes also had Unimogs stationed at particularly muddy spots to help tow drivers out along with helicopters and other aerial support to transport parts and tools wherever the team needed them. There’s even an anecdotal story about a rally participant losing his brakes and a Mercedes support helicopter flying in an entire rear axle assembly that was bolted onto the car in 20 minutes!

The car shown here is believed to be one of just 40 examples allocated to the U.S. market and one of 1,400 units built worldwide. In addition to the engine, other weight-savings measures were undertaken throughout the car’s structure, with Mercedes utilizing alloy body panels throughout. These weigh-savings measures shaved 125 lbs. of the car’s curb weight, which was no small feat for a vehicle and brand that places an emphasis on bank vault-like construction. Even with its rally car DNA, the interior is still a lovely place to spend time and you can bet this SLC will be a treat to drive pretty much anywhere. $49,000 is the asking price, which doesn’t surprise me one bit when you look back at past auction sales for other examples of this limited-production homologation car.