Million-Dollar Mercedes: Another 300 SL Roadster Climbs Past Seven Figures

The Roadster’s Place Beside the Gullwing

Despite being rarer, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster has always lived in the long shadow of its winged predecessor. The Gullwing Coupe is the icon, the poster car, and the one that dominates auction headlines. Even replicas garner so much attention, some even asking for more money than a Ferrari Purosangue.

Yet the open-top variant is every bit a piece of Stuttgart’s finest engineering, only wrapped in a more graceful and approachable form. It gave up the visual drama of upward-opening doors for easier entry, more refined road manners, and genuine usability.

The Roadster may not match the Gullwing’s values on the auction stage, but it regularly joins the same company by clearing the seven-figure threshold. One such example is currently drawing attention on Bring a Trailer.

Concours Level of Restoration Employed

The car at the center of bidding is a 1961 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, one of just 250 produced that year and among the earliest examples equipped with disc brakes. Chassis 002844 has a rich history, having spent time in Virginia and Massachusetts before being purchased by the selling dealer in 2023.

A comprehensive refurbishment carried out by Coachworks Restoration in Victoria, British Columbia, was completed earlier this year. The work included a rebuild of the numbers-matching 3.0-liter inline-six, overhauls of the driveline, brakes, suspension, and exhaust, as well as a complete repaint in metallic blue with new tan leather upholstery inside. The car also comes with a matching hardtop, a blue soft top, chrome 15-inch steel wheels, and period details, such as a Becker Mexico radio.

Records and documentation are extensive, covering decades of service history and invoices totaling more than $393,000 in restoration costs. As of the time of writing, the bid is $1,031,000.

Not the First 300 SL to Cross the Million-Dollar Block

There are still four days left on the auction, and all indications suggest this 300 SL Roadster will sell for well above the million-dollar line.

It is far from the first of its kind to do so. RM Sotheby’s previously sold another 1961 example in a nearly identical color combination for $1,462,500. That car was restored by D.L. George Historic Motorcars and retained its numbers-matching components, making it one of the benchmark sales for the model in recent years. The market has consistently placed the Roadster below the Gullwing, but examples like these continue to prove that open-air motoring wrapped in Stuttgart’s finest engineering remains highly coveted.