The elegant 300Sc cabriolet presented here was dispatched to the New York Mercedes-Benz distributorship in early 1956 and, according to a copy of its factory build record, was finished in dark brown with a beige leather interior. While little has been documented about its earlier years, in about 2001, the car was discovered in Ohio on the showroom floor of an independent repair shop owned by a marque specialist. Well-known Mercedes-Benz restorer and historian Rudi Koniczek of Victoria, B.C., Canada, with his business partner, negotiated the Sc’s purchase via Mercedes-Benz authority Peter Thomas of Arizona. A closer inspection revealed to Mr. Koniczek that, though the color had been changed to cream, the car was a particularly intact example. It showed just over 60,000 miles, and the engine number, stamped on the driver’s side of the block, matched the factory build record.
After years of further conservatorship, the cabriolet was sold in 2015 to a collector who retained Mr. Koniczek’s shop, Rudi & Company, to perform a major mechanical and cosmetic recommissioning at a cost of over $345,000 Canadian. The work included a bare-metal respray in the original dark brown, retrimming of the interior and canvas top, and considerable mechanical work as necessary throughout the car. In all, over 1,800 hours of labor were devoted to the refurbishment, which concluded in 2017. The 300Sc continues to present today as an extremely attractive, driver-quality example.
Accompanied by an owner’s manual and jack, the 300Sc features three matched pieces of extremely rare factory Karl Baisch fitted luggage. As beautiful and scarce as it is drivable and enjoyable, this hand-built post-war Mercedes-Benz flagship represents the epitome of the Mercedes-Benz marque at a time when cost was no object.
SCM Analysis
Detailing
| Vehicle: | 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300Sc Cabriolet |
| Years Produced: | 1955–58 |
| Number Produced: | 199 |
| SCM Valuation: | $750,000 |
| Tune Up Cost: | $1,000 |
| Chassis Number Location: | Cowl tag on passenger’s firewall and stamping and tag on right front chassis leg |
| Engine Number Location: | Tag and stamping on left side of block below cylinder head |
| Club Info: | Mercedes-Benz Club of America |
| Website: | http://www.mbca.org |
| Alternatives: | 1946–48 Lincoln Continental convertible, 1955–57 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud DHC, 1934–1944 Mercedes-Benz 500K/540K cabriolet |
| Investment Grade: | A |
This car, Lot 58, sold for $748,000, including buyer’s premium, at Gooding & Company’s Geared Online sale held October 26–30, 2020.
Mercedes-Benz was heavily targeted by the Allies in World War II and thus suffered massive losses. It is utterly amazing how quickly it rebounded. By 1947 it was repurposing pre-war cars and trucks, and by the late ’40s it had introduced new cars based on the 4-cylinder flathead 170, basically pre-war cars with a slightly more-modern suspension.
This was followed by the 220, which used a 2.2-liter, overhead-cam 6-cylinder, with independent front suspension and a swing-axle rear. It had a column-shifted 4-speed transmission and was available in a variety of body styles including a sedan, a 4-passenger cabriolet, a 2-passenger cabriolet and a coupe.
Descendant of the Ks
Following quickly in its footsteps, Mercedes introduced the 300 series, with a 3-liter OHC I6 with 115 horsepower, available as a 4-door limousine and a 4-door cabriolet. At the 1951 Paris Motor Show, it introduced the 300S, which used a three-carb version of the engine to produce 150 hp. An exclusive grand-touring car, it could be custom built to order in either a 2-door coupe, cabriolet or roadster. All were designed in-house by Hermann Ahrens, the man responsible for the pre-war 500/540Ks. The design was decidedly retro, with no envelope body or integrated grille, but with separate fenders and a prominent chromed radiator with the iconic three-pointed star on the radiator cap. Subtle it was not.
In 1954, of course, Mercedes introduced the famous 300SL Gullwing, a loss leader to get foot traffic into the showrooms. As it sold for just under $8,000, I’m sure money was lost on each one. A year later, the 300Sc came to market, also offered in coupe, cabriolet and roadster bodies. Distinguished from its older sibling, it now had Bosch fuel injection in place of carbs (good for 175 hp), a refined steering ratio, and a low-pivot swing axle in place of the standard VW-style swing axle. These cars were truly hand-built, on a separate production line with an array of paint, leather and wood choices, much like their predecessors, the 540Ks. For comparison, in 1955 a Chevy convertible was $2,300, a Cadillac Eldorado was about $5,500, and a 300Sc was just under $15,000 — almost twice the price of a Gullwing!
As visually stunning as the cars were, they were a tough sale at the price. Americans were power-hungry, and at almost 4,500 pounds, the 300Sc was abysmally slow. Couple that with the lack of power steering, an automatic transmission, power top or a/c and it was an uphill battle to sell this anachronistic machine.
A declining market
The car here is a very nicely presented example, restored by a well-known and respected marque specialist. I noticed a few of the details were incorrect, but nothing major. It sold for just below the low estimate, but why? It confounds me why someone would present a wonderful car like this and not spend the time to detail the chassis. Presentation is everything!
Using all of our collector-car rules of thumb, this should be a much more valuable car. Being a convertible and one of only 49 cabriolets built, it fits into an exclusive category of an open car with low build numbers, which should mean big money. But it doesn’t, relatively speaking.
The price paid here is indicative of where the market is going. These cars are much more expensive to restore than a 300SL — more prone to rust, more chrome, more wood, more leather and roughly the same mechanical costs. Yet they are slow and ponderous to drive, much less park. A young person with a million bucks to spend can get into a 300SL and enjoy the experience. Not so much with these cars. The market for these is aging out, and the days of owning cars like this as a static investment are over. If they’re not fun to drive or if they cannot be used easily, their days are numbered.
This one was both well sold and bought. The buyer got a still-fresh restoration for less than what he’d have to spend on another car, and the seller got out of a falling market. ♦
(Introductory description courtesy of Gooding & Company.)
