SCM Analysis
Detailing
| Vehicle: | 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Alloy Gullwing |
| Years Produced: | 1955–56 |
| Number Produced: | 29 |
| SCM Valuation: | $3,015,000 |
| Tune Up Cost: | $1,500 |
| Chassis Number Location: | Front left of chassis frame and on ID tag on bulkhead |
| Engine Number Location: | Stamped and matching ID tag on right front corner of engine block |
| Club Info: | Gull Wing Group |
| Website: | http://www.gullwinggroup.org |
| Alternatives: | 1954–55 Ferrari 250 Europa GT, 1956–59 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France, 1954–56 Maserati A6G/54 2000 |
| Investment Grade: | A |
This car, Lot 159, sold for $6,825,000, including buyer’s premium, at RM Sotheby’s Phoenix, AZ, auction on January 27, 2022.
When it comes to Alloy Gullwings, this particular example was one of the best. Known as the “Hyatt Cheek car,” due to his long-term stewardship, its reputation is sterling. While all Alloy Gullwings remain highly sought after, this one boasts an unusual level of originality, making it even rarer. The presence of such a lauded car on the open market is undoubtedly an opportunity. This is only the third example to come to auction since 2012.
A confluence of events
This car was easily the best thing on offer in Arizona. While the bar was not particularly high this year, the recent market strength led to great expectations for this lot. RM Sotheby’s stated in its print auction catalog that the seller had been guaranteed a minimum price (by either the auction house or possibly in conjunction with a third party).
A car with the right credentials, the headliner of a high-profile auction, it was tagged with a pre-sale estimate of $7m–$9m, a figure in line with recent private sales. Alas, despite this record $6.8m result, the sale price still fell shy of that mark. What happened?
Despite the rarity of such a car on the market, two Alloy Gullwings sold privately in 2021. The first was a relatively standard restored example and the other was the better-known “Santa Monica garage find.” Both cars sold above the $7m level (the latter’s price supposedly beginning with an eight).
These private results certainly make our subject car appear exceptionally well bought.
Auction data seem to justify this sentiment as well. Since the start of the year, we’ve seen a boom in 300SL pricing. First, in Kissimmee in January, Mecum hammered a Gullwing for astonishing money ($2,640,000). Then Bring a Trailer sold the very average IMS Museum Gullwing for nearly $1.5m. At the moment, a Gullwing, commonly a bellwether of the larger market, seems quite hard to value. Speculation aside, the model is up approximately 30% over 2021 prices.
Big data
As for Alloy Gullwings, there has always been a generally agreed-upon and data-driven difference in price over a standard example. That difference is usually a factor of four or five times — a truly astonishing figure given that the two cars are virtually identical in appearance. With 300SLs seeming to be January 2022’s “flavor of the month,” it’s interesting to see that the most desirable iteration of all underperformed in what should have been an ideal setting.
The 300SL Gullwing is one of, if not the most iconic collector car of all time, and given the production numbers, they trade with a frequency and at a price point that seems rather easily absorbed by the market. On the other hand, buyers for this $7m–$9m Alloy Gullwing are equally as rare as the model itself.
Long-term?
Which leads us to a broader topic: Many of the greatest (and most valuable) collector cars have changed hands in the past decade, and a large majority of those cars came from very long-term ownership. The trend today is that many of these same truly great cars resurface to the market in short order.
As RM Sotheby’s stated, the 300SL “has been a closely guarded prize and the centerpiece of [the consignor’s] outstanding collection.” The car was acquired by the seller just eight years prior, according to the catalog. By comparison, Hyatt Cheek owned the car for 32 years.
To me this highlights a shift in collector behavior, something that has changed certainly since 1982, but even perhaps since 2014. I don’t mean to be naïve, as the past decade’s change in prices has had a huge effect on the look and shape of collections. That said, the great cars (like the Hyatt Cheek car) rarely changed hands. Collecting was a waiting game, particularly if you wanted the best.
Timing is everything
The real crux of the issue is that when a car reappears on the market in a relatively short period of time, we tend to see it as a strike against the car. When nothing (or little) about the car has changed, it seems unfair not to consider the human element. Regardless, increased turnover can have a negative effect on pricing, if only because it changes the “once-in-a-lifetime” dynamic.
With our subject Alloy Gullwing, I’m sure the fact that two cars sold privately just this past year, and several others in the years prior, made an already small buyer pool that much smaller. That created the opportunity to purchase such an outstanding car at a discount. The buyer ended up with an exceptional example for a very fair price. ♦
(Introductory description courtesy of RM Sotheby’s.)
