A pair of vintage Mercedes – one of them a 1-of-7 right-hand-drive Adenauer cabriolet – has been discovered in a garage in Yorkshire in the UK. The two Mercedes, both 300-Series Adenauers, consist of the aforementioned convertible and a RHD saloon. Find more information about the pair here on The Telegraph website. The cars will sell via auction at the upcoming H&H Classics sale.
The Cabriolet is the star of the show, already a rare specimen before the RHD configuration is factored in. Despite what you may think, driving on the other side of the car isn’t that difficult, as I speak from personal experience. But there are likely components that are RHD-specific – think the headlight lenses, exhaust system, and anything that mounts in different locations in the engine bay – that are extremely hard to find replacements for. Thankfully, the convertible looks remarkably intact.
The interior presents particularly well. Originally painted red, we hope the next owner returns it to its correct color combination. The interior is believed to be correct, but red on gray would be stunning. The car’s history shows it was originally registered to Mercedes-Benz UK and remained in their ownership until 1965. No word on whether the 3.0L inline-six still turns over, but the auctioneer does caution it will need complete restoration. Mileage is believed to be accurate at just over 76,000 miles.
The sedan is said to be in rougher shape overall, with more rust visible, particularly in the lower sills. It is also expected to fetch far less money, so it could be appealing as a project to those without the pocketbook to support the cabriolet’s rejuvenation. While I do agree the RHD configuration adds some intrigue, I’d never say the value is boosted – unless you live in the UK and have been hunting for a truly obscure Mercedes.
One of my favorite cars but they need to stay in the UK.
Why?
It will take a multi-millionaire to restore the Cabriolet as opposed to a mere millionaire to restore the Sedan. I would be proud to have either, if I had the 💲
I pretty much agree with Dave Wright, but maybe a little less strident. RHD is just a little more valuable to a buyer there than in the LHD world. I’ve had 3 different Jeeps, Subies as daily drivers in the US and it takes about a day to get used to it.
And its uniqueness is not worth much to me.
Now, if it was an XK120 Jag roadster, yes, a RHD would appeal to me a lot.
But wow, either one of these restored is the high point of Teutonic style of the 1950’s. A step back in time, for sure.
Very cool. One of my distant cousins, his uncle had a Mercedes 300S cab and an MG-TF in a barn. The 300S was pretty rare, I think a few hundred were made. Last I heard there was a barn fire and barely got the 300S out in time.
As such cars could travel over to the LHD European countries, most cars had a lever in the headlight bulb holder to twist the bulb over to LHD configuration. If it wasn’t a lever or knob like thing, there was a second set of cutouts to fit the bulb lugs into for LHD. On my Peugeot & Renault you don’t need any tools to do this. I imagine that Mercedes probably had an ingenious engineered system to do the same.