U.S.-built, AMG-tuned Mercedes-Benz sedan heads to auction

A unique Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL known as “Blueberry” will be sold at an auction in the United States in late March, expected to fetch up to $200,000.

In early 1984, AMG of North America founder and CEO Richard Buxbaum contacted his German colleague, Hans-Werner Aufrecht, with a complaint. He said he found the Mercedes S-Class lineup sorely lacking in vivid, eye-catching color options.

In response, Aufrecht decided to send a single special 500 SEL to the USA with the next car shipment scheduled for July 1984. In the end, however, he changed his mind about selling the car and instead handed it over to Buxbaum as a Christmas present.

It was a spectacular example in Lapis Blue Metallic, a color that Mercedes had only used in extremely rare cases. The interior was retrimmed from its original velour to grey leather with matching natural wood accents. The famous Gemballa workshop was contracted to produce new door panels.

A new body kit and wheels were produced for the build, and the suspension was remade from the ground up using custom Bilstein shocks. The 5.0-liter V8 remained stock, but ended up with a more “characterful” exhaust system.

Buxbaum held on to the sedan for a year and a few months. Billionaire Rick Cohen bought it out and proceeded to keep in his collection for five more years. It has then changed hands a few more times and ultimately looped back to Buxbaum, who invested around $120,000 restoring it to peak condition. It is now heading to auction straight from the tuner’s collection, so it should be pristine.