Super Leicht Gullwing

9 November, 2023

1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL 
A Kiwi restoration tale like no other. Two of the rarest cars in the world, found in the Waikato, then restored in New Zealand and one of them subsequently marketed overseas for a cool… $12,876,000
Photos: Stephan Bauer for Schaltkulisse GmbH

It’s fair to say that nothing much in the classic Mercedes world gets past Mercedes-Benz Club stalwart Garry Boyce so it wasn’t surprising to learn that around 15 years ago he had sniffed out an extremely rare 300SL lightweight Gullwing as well as a 1958 300SL Roadster hiding away in the Waikato. The cars were not for sale but Garry eventually managed to persuade the owner to allow him and his restoration team to take a look at the Roadster. They discovered a very distressed but largely unmolested car. The car was so original that the body had never been off the chassis, meaning most of the parts and fittings were still present and correct, as they had been fitted by the factory.
Garry had a quick look at the lightweight coupé on the same day, just a few kilometres away from the Roadster’s resting place. It sent shivers down his spine as he inspected such a desirable machine in a condition that could only be described as a basket case. After leaving the premises in a somewhat distressed state himself, Garry could only speculate on the possible fate of these cars — both dreams and, more probably, nightmares.

Later Garry ascertained the owner of both of these cars was overseas, having shipped the pair of 300SLs from the UK during the late ’80s, hopeful of eventual restoration. Garry’s continued expressions of interest and dogged persistence were finally rewarded when he received a call from the owner, saying: “I want to sell you the cars today!”
Both cars were then treated to an extensive four-year concours quality restoration by Mercedes-Benz specialist, Lloyd Marx.

Garry entered the Gullwing in the Ellerslie Intermarque Concours d’Elegance in 2015, scoring 564 points out of a possible 590 — the third-highest recorded score in the competition’s 42-year history — and winning the prestigious Masters Class.  The car also featured on the cover of New Zealand Classic Car magazine in April 2015.
Before the year was out, chassis #6500015 returned to London, whence it was originally sold in 1956. Aware of the car’s significance as one of just 29 alloy-bodied 300SLs, the new owner charged the Gullwing gurus at HK-Engineering with elevating the car’s condition even further. The work was finished in time for the car to be entered in the most famous automotive beauty pageant of them all: the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California. In the fiercely contested Postwar Touring class, it won second place.

That brings us to today. This outstanding example is now offered for sale by German classic car specialists, Schaltkulisse. According to Garry, “Irrespective of the current worldwide pandemic, high-end, high-quality classics cars retain their investment status.”
So, if you have a cool 7.5 million euros burning a hole in your pocket, then this 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL with some Kiwi credentials may just be an investment worth considering.
This article first published August 2020

NZ Classic Car magazine, January/February 2025 issue 397, on sale now

Having dominated the world motorcycle championships of the 1960s, Honda had a crucial decision to make in 1969. Would Soichiro Honda heed his engineer’s pivotal advice?
“Very few examples of the early Civic, a car that set Honda onto the path to becoming a giant of the car world, remain road registered in New Zealand.
Retired Tauranga owner of this example, Graham Inglis is thrilled with his classic little Honda Civic, the first of eleven generations built so far by the company. The Civic became a household name.
“It’s quite amazing the number of people who not only wave, but come up to me in the street and tell me how much they like the little Honda and its colour, and then they want to start talking about it. A guy in our vintage car club wants to buy it and he has been pushing me a bit. It’s not for sale,” he laughs.
Graham bought his 1977 Honda Civic from Wellington enthusiast Julian Foster, who was the instigator of its restoration.”

A star in their eyes – 1968 Ford Galaxie 500

“Everyone asks that until they take a closer look,” says its owner today, Brent Harris of Auckland. “They also ask if I’ve done the restoration myself, and I have to tell them no, it is 100 per cent original. It’s the paint listed in the handbook.”
It was the original condition of the car that won Brent over from the moment he first saw it — that and the fact “it just looks stunning”.
Brent had owned a 1968 Mark II Cortina for four years. It was in need of some work and the question arose whether to spend the money or get something different. You don’t get much more divergent than Ford’s different approaches to its markets in the UK and the USA.