1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL 'Sportabteilung' Gullwing For Sale
Price on Request
Details
Description
The rarest and most desirable W198 Gullwing ever offered, with factory racing pedigree.
Key Features
- The first of only four Factory-prepared W198 Gullwings by Mercedes-Benz’s Sportabteilung
- Special racing equipment including the NSL-spec engine
- Used by the Mercedes-Benz competition team in the 1955 season
- 2nd Overall at the 1956 Tour de France – driven by Sir Stirling Moss
- Single-family ownership since 1966
- Restored to 1956 TdF specification in a meticulous 3-year preservation project
- Presented with racing livery #149 and full Sportabteilung components
Historical Significance
This car redefines the value and importance of the 300 SL Gullwing. As the very first steel-bodied Gullwing prepared by the Mercedes-Benz factory’s Sportabteilung, chassis 5500640 was delivered in August 1955 for development and racing purposes. Unlike customer cars, this Gullwing was engineered with Factory-tuned enhancements: NSL motor, ventilated brakes, Rudge wheels, modified final drive ratio, and more.
Its most illustrious appearance came in the 1956 Tour de France Automobile, driven exclusively by racing icon Sir Stirling Moss. Despite early mechanical setbacks, Moss stormed back to finish 2nd overall — a legendary comeback that immortalized this Gullwing’s performance legacy.
Later raced in multiple European events by Georges Houel, the car changed hands only once in 1966, entering a private French collection. A full preservation restoration was completed in 2011 to exact 1956 TdF specs. The car retains all its original Sportabteilung parts and remains one of only two surviving examples of the four Factory-competition W198s built.
A Golden-Grail for Collectors
Offered now for the first time in over half a century, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire arguably the most historically important 300 SL Gullwing in existence. With its direct Factory competition roots, period racing history with Moss, and unparalleled preservation, chassis 5500640 is a true motorsport artifact of postwar excellence.
