Stirling Moss's rare Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is up for auction.
Legendary racer Stirling Moss is no longer with us, but the limited edition supercar bearing his name still holds a lot of value, and one lucky enthusiast will soon be able to own it.
The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss will be sold at the RM Sotheby's auction to be held in Paris from January 31 to February 8.
The car, which has chassis number WDD19999761M900055, is one of 75 wild speedsters built briefly in 2009 with only 150 km (about 93 miles) on the odometer, according to the listing. The car was originally delivered in Germany and has been owned by the same owner for all these years. [The SLR McLaren Stirling Moss has the hero colors of the SLR McLaren Stirling Moss: metallic silver exterior and black and red interior. This color scheme is similar to that of the 300 SLR, which won the 1955 Mille Miglia driven by Moss and co-driver Dennis Jenkinson.
As the name suggests, the SLR McLaren Stirling Moss is based on the Mercedes supercar SLR McLaren. It is the final version of the supercar built by McLaren (Mercedes was partnering with McLaren in Formula One at the time) and is approximately 440 pounds lighter than the normal version due to its unique Speedster body and extensive use of carbon fiber. [The supercharged 5.5-liter V-8 engine is mounted front-midship, with a maximum output of 650 hp.
Because of the speedster body, driving on the highway can be more harmful than hair-raising, even with a small windshield mounted in front of the driver's seat. This means that to drive reasonably in the SLR McLaren Stirling Moss, the occupants must wear helmets.
RM Sotheby's expects the final bid to be between €3 million and €4 million (approximately $3.26 million to $4.35 million). Another example with the same exterior and interior color combination was offered at RM Sotheby's auction in 2020, but did not sell, with the final bid reaching €1.4 million ($1.52 million).