A quiet New England neighborhood was hiding one of the rarest low mileage classic Mercedes on earth
Published on Apr 19, 2026 at 10:37 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Apr 19, 2026 at 10:37 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
Wayne Carini – yep, the Wayne Carini – discovered a Mercedes 300 Gullwing that’s spent the last few decades in a semi-abandoned state in a barn in New England.
Even though it would require extensive restoration, it checks all the classic icon boxes.
This is one of the rarest cars in the world, and it’s still worth a fortune, even in this condition.
And that’s mainly because of its low mileage.
The most expensive car in the world
A few years ago, an even rarer 300 – the 300 SLR – became the world’s most expensive car overnight.
No one knew anything about it, mainly because the car was sold at a secret auction and was sold directly by Mercedes-Benz.
The car in question is a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé, which sold for €135 million – equivalent to around $160 million.
The records sound unbeatable, especially when we remember the second car on the list – a Ferrari 250 – ‘only’ sold for $38.5 million.
But at this rate, with inflation on the rise and the value of classic cars constantly going up, we wouldn’t rule anything out.
This particular Mercedes 300 Gullwing is worth a lot less, but it’s still a fortune
Wayne Carini, a lot of people will remember him from the Chasing Classic Cars TV show, told the story of a Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing that’s spent the last few years semi-abandoned in a remote barn in New England.
Mercedes built around 1,400 Gullwings between 1954 and 1957, a lot of which have been lost or destroyed.
This one wasn’t, but, as you can see from the pictures, it isn’t exactly in stellar condition.
The Gullwing found by Carini was buried under piles of junk, but, in Carini’s words, was ‘entirely original and beautiful.’
It’s only done 15,000 miles from new, which is not bad for a car that’s 70 years old.
It’s true that the Mercedes needs a lot of work, but it’s still one of the most valuable cars in the world.
If the owner wanted to sell it tomorrow, even in its current condition, it would still command hundreds of thousands of dollars.
After restoration, you’d have to add an extra zero to the price.
Innovation, and a self-fulfilling prophecy: Why the Mercedes 300 Gullwing is so valuable
If you wanted to look at it rationally, the 300 is valuable for a few reasons.
It was one of the first cars to use a tubular space-frame chassis, the first production car to use fuel injection, and the fastest production car of its era, with a top speed of 160mph.
But the real reason why this car is now so valuable is that it’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The fact that the most expensive car in the world is a 300 automatically makes every other 300 a bit more valuable.
Put simply, it’s valuable because people believe it is valuable.
No one can buy the record-breaking 300SLR, and so collectors can only ‘settle’ for other 300s.
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After beginning his automotive writing career at DriveTribe, Alessandro has been with Supercar Blondie since the launch of the website in 2022. In fact, he penned the very first article published on supercarblondie.com. He’s covered subjects from cars to aircraft, watches, and luxury yachts - and even crypto. He can largely be found heading up the site’s new-supercar and SBX coverage and being the first to bring our readers the news that they’re hungry for.
