There are quite a few YouTubers who own an impressive collection of supercars, and Tyler Hoover, who recently traded in his Bugatti Veyron for a 70-year-old Mercedes-Benz, is one of them. It might come as a surprise that someone would sell a Bugatti to buy a 1955 Mercedes, but you’d nod in agreement that this person has taste when you learn that it’s the world’s first supercar.
YouTuber Overjoyed to Buy Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Despite Selling His Bugatti
And if you’re curious, it’s the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing, a model that has also recently made an appearance in Vietnam. This iconic coupe is not only rare but also supremely expensive and lightning-fast, even by today’s standards, despite being introduced 70 years ago.
Mercedes-Benz produced the 300 SL coupe with gullwing doors from 1954 to 1957 before releasing the roadster version, which remained in production until 1963. Only about 1,400 coupes were manufactured, making this car extremely rare.
Most of them ended up in the United States, thanks to Max Hoffman, an Austrian businessman living in New York, who single-handedly shaped the demand for European sports cars in the US during the 1950s.
He convinced Mercedes-Benz that there was a market for a road-going version of their successful W194 race car in the US. Americans wanted something unique, agile, and captivating, and Hoffman promised he could sell it if Mercedes produced it.
Mercedes listened and delivered. The result was the 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing, debuted in New York rather than Germany, thanks to Hoffman’s lobbying. Without his persuasive powers, the 300 SL might have remained solely a race car, never evolving into the road-going icon that defined Mercedes in the 20th century.
The 300 SL Gullwing was the fastest production car of its time, capable of reaching a top speed of 260 km/h. And the performance story doesn’t end there. The car featured a groundbreaking mechanical fuel injection system, a lightweight tubular frame, and those stunning gullwing doors that drew everyone’s attention whenever the owner opened them.
Moreover, the “SL” stands for “super leicht,” German for “super light,” a reference to the race car-inspired design of this model. It’s not just a badge on the trunk. It’s a statement. Every nut, bolt, and curve of the Gullwing was designed with the goal of weight reduction and race car suitability in mind, reminding anyone who drove it that this wasn’t your average Mercedes. It was a thoroughbred built for speed.
Tyler Hoover had dreamed of owning a Gullwing since he was a child. As the years passed, he continued to dream that one day his hard work would pay off, and he’d have a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing in his garage. But as prices soared over the years, his dream began to shatter.
A 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing with an alloy frame even sold for a staggering $9,335,000 at an auction last year, reminding collectors just how unattainable these cars have become over the years.
For Tyler, it felt like watching his dream slip further away, as those numbers could dash hopes faster than a broken engine. Those numbers were discouraging. However, everything changed unexpectedly last week when he received a call from a classic car expert who had found the car and negotiated on his behalf. So, Tyler simply hopped on a plane from Kansas to California to see the car.
He was overwhelmed with emotion as he stepped into the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center. Tyler Hoover stared at the car in disbelief, and his eyes welled up. The car had been owned by the same family for over 40 years. It was cherished, treasured, and proudly maintained as an undisputed gem of their collection. It was an original, accident-free Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing, ticking all the boxes.
Tyler’s new classic car hadn’t been the “queen” of the garage for the past 70 years since it rolled off the production line. The odometer showed 117,000 miles. The car had never been fully restored. He was well aware that restoring the entire frame was out of reach, but he was determined to get it running and drivable.
He “drove” the car through the shop, pushed by the staff. He discovered that his new old car was originally painted in charcoal gray before being changed to silver, and it had red leather upholstery instead of the current black seats. His heart sank when he heard that the owner of a similar car had spent a million dollars on its restoration. In that moment, the dream of restoring his own Gullwing to its former glory seemed like an almost insurmountable mountain.
The good news was that the manufacturer’s toolkit and jack were in the trunk. These could be quite expensive. Just the jack alone could cost between $8,000 and $12,000. Tyler learned how to start the car when it was cold. The mechanic jump-started the engine, and it roared to life. Oil pressure built up, fresh gas was pumped into the engine, and the 3.0-liter inline-six engine purred.
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