For all its classic collectible beauty, the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300S Coupe is overshadowed by the slightly rarer open 300S and Sc roadsters. Recently a 300S Coupe was sold off at Bonhams's Paris Rétromobile auction for $216,775 on February 9, 2008. That wasn’t bad, but for all its exclusivity, one would expect it to fetch a prettier penny, but a thing is only worth as much as another is willing to pay for it.
The 300S Coupe was more expensive than the 300SL sports car and double the price of a contemporary Cadillac. But even then, for all its innovation, engineering and crafting, few were willing to shell out the bucks to buy one. It was one of the world’s most exclusive automobiles with only 760 300S/Sc cars leaving the factory from 1951 to 1958. Nonetheless, the 300S was a sales and financial disaster because it sorely lacked the new 1950’s luxury technologies—power steering, automatic transmission, air conditioning, power seats, and power soft tops. One has to wonder why they didn’t include those things considering all the effort they splurged on it.
Built on a small 114 inch wheelbase, it appears larger with an elegantly sculpted shaping of the exterior. Completely 100 percent new, the 300 series had new fresh tolling for the body, chassis, engine, and suspension. The engineering was superior with a 3-liter straight-6 matching the top speed with half the fuel consumption of their pre-1940 predecessors that had 5.4-liter supercharged straight-8s.
There is a pecking order for collectible classic cars: open cars, special versions such as woodies, limited high-horsepower editions, coupes, with sedans being the bottom rung of the ladder. The 300S is unfortunately near the rear of the line, though coupes did rise in popularity in the 1990’s. An upside to a Mercedes-Benz classic is the support offered by the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center. Replacement parts for old Mercedes are easier to obtain than any other classic on the road.
Our take? Well, this thing is an antique, and antiques generally appreciate in value over time. Or if you wanted one just for your own personal pleasure and could afford it, does it really matter if you overpaid a little? Finding a seller for one of these is as difficult as finding a buyer, and if you really want one, what the heck.