Late British racing driver Stirling Moss will be remembered as the world’s most famous racer never to win an international championship, and this Mercedes-Benz 230 SL from his collection will be crossing the auction block in August expected to fetch £100,000 –£120,000.
In a Mille Miglia race 67 years ago, Moss won over the attention and eventually also loyalty of Mercedes-Benz by finishing with the then-unthinkable average speed of 160 kilometers per hour (nearly 100 mph). Using his standing with the company, he requested a custom SL-Class for himself that would ditch the stock 2.3-liter inline-six engine in favor of a larger 2.5-liter mill that was only meant to reach the mass market in the following year.
Making things more interesting is the fact that both engines produced identical 150 metric horsepower (148 British hp, or 110 kilowatts). The larger block generated more torque, though – 216 Nm versus 197 (159 lb-ft vs. 145) – and felt more responsive on the road. In Moss’ eyes, this alone warranted a custom build.
Furthermore, he insisted on having multiple 2.5-liter engines tested on the dyno stand and cherry-picked the one with the best dyno numbers. Then again, perhaps this is exactly how you should go about picking a heart for your ride when you are a professional racing driver.
Elsewhere, the bespoke SL-Class boasts a practical trapdoor in the rear part of its removable hardtop to allow for a little extra ventilation with the top on. As far as we know, Mercedes never made exceptions like that for any other buyer of any other 230 SL.
The car now goes on sale with 128,000 km (just under 80,000 mi) on the odometer, and the listing states it needs a round of maintenance with a full replacement of brakes.