A Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC 5.0 Coupe produced in the distant year 1979 will be heading to the auction block in Paris, France in early February. The model was the first WRC winner to feature a V8 and automatic transmission. The price expectations lie within €800,000–1,100,000.
The original Mercedes-Benz W107 that debuted in 1971 weighed quite a lot and was rather bulky, but the company nonetheless chose it for WRC participation. Multiple vehicles arrived at the start line armed with a V8 and an auto gearbox. The example on sale wasn’t particularly successful, though, only winning two bronze medals at the 1979 Côte d'Ivoire race and the 1980 Kenya run.
Mercedes replaced all hinged body parts with aluminum ones to reduce weight, and used the same metal for the five-liter engine rated at 240 PS (237 hp / 177 kW). The modifications helped shed around 97 kilograms (214 pounds) in total. The stock three-speed A/T was reinforced to withstand higher loads.
The rear bench and most of the comfot options also went out of the window. Per the racing regulations, the rally car was retrofitted with a safety cage, a fire extinguisher, bucket seats and co-driver equipment. Four floodlights were mounted on the front bumper for nighttime racing.
An homologation batch came out alongside these racing-only cars and was available for anyone to buy. A total of 2,769 road-legal cars were made, and car collectors nowadays hunt for the few remaining examples. As for the rally car production batch, it consisted of only 7 units, including this one.