STAY CONNECTED TO VIBRANTVICTORIA
WHAT'S HAPPENING ON CITIFIED VICTORIA
A classic 1956 Mercedes-Benz that underwent a complete restoration in Victoria has sold for a record $3.4 million US at a collector-car auction in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Only 311 examples of the 300SL gullwing coupe left the factory in 1956.
The seller was Victoria-based Tim Quocksister, owner of Silver Arrow Cars, who deals primarily in rare luxury cars.
The purchaser, who wanted to remain anonymous, is an 80-year-old car collector from Minnesota.
He has 130 vehicles in his collection and the 300SL was the last car on his bucket list, said Quocksister, who bills himself as the go-to person when it comes to the 300SL, usually selling 12 to 15 of them a year to customers throughout North America.
The car was sold at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction, which took place Jan. 20 to 28 and sold a record-breaking $207.6 million worth of vehicles.
https://www.timescol...auction-8199277
Quocksister had purchased the 1956 Mercedes from the estate of a collector in 2020.
While the car was in relatively good condition for its age, he decided it could be better. He handed the car over to Coachwerks, a Victoria automotive restoration shop that specializes in hand-built and limited-production collector cars, for a three-year frame-off restoration that saw the car disassembled to its nuts and bolts.
After 4,000 hours of work by a team of 30 specialists, it’s considered to be in “better-than-new” condition. More than 3,000 pictures were taken of the vehicle during its transformation.
We do not know how much he paid for the car and materials used for the restoration. But $3.4M / 4000 hours labour is $850/hr.
Edited by Victoria Watcher, 02 February 2024 - 05:06 AM.
