To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sothebys' Paris event, 1 February 2023.

• Former Mercedes-Benz Works rally car; one of seven cars badged as an 450 SLC 5.0
• Driven in period by Swedish rally ace Björn Waldegård
• Podium finishes at the 1979 Rallye Bandama Côte D’Ivoire and 1980 Marlboro Safari Rally
• Retained by the consigning owner for more than three decades

Mercedes-Benz surprised the rally world in 1977 with the announcement of the 450 SLC. Built to homologate the 450 SL for the 1978 World Rally Championship, the car was powered by a new all-aluminium 5.0-litre V-8. The special body featured weight-saving alloy bonnet and boot panels, with the rally car developed by the renowned engineer, Dr Erich Waxenberger. Mercedes-Benz built 19 examples exclusively for use in international rallying, with only seven badged as an 450 SLC 5.0, each equipped with a specially developed automatic transmission.

Completed on 26 September 1979, chassis “836” was registered with the license plate “S-DV 9032”. It was fitted with a special development engine, supplementary cooling systems for oil and coolant, and a clever radiator that served as a grille to protect the power steering system from debris.

The car made its competition debut at the 1979 Bandama Rally Côte D’Ivoire as part of a four-car Works entry. Numbered “4”, the 450 SLC 5.0 was driven by rally ace Björn Waldegård and Hans Thorszelius, who battled throughout the five-day event to place 2nd in a historic Mercedes-Benz 1-2-3-4 finish. The manufacturer became the first to win a WRC rally with V-8 power, and the first to do so with an automatic transmission.

The car’s next outing was the 1980 Marlboro Safari Rally in Kenya. Piloted by Vic Preston Jr and John Lyall, a storming performance had the pair finish 3rd in the desert. The car served as a training car in Argentina later that year. Two years later it was sold by the Works team to Belgian enthusiast, H. Beankens. He is thought to have kept the car until 1984, when it was acquired by Dr Peter Lorenz in Koblenz. Lorenz is understood to have restored the car, and by 1990 it was co-owned by two private individuals who sold it to the consigning private collector in the February of that year. Since then, it has been returned to its Bandama Rally livery and carefully preserved.

The car is accompanied by the original German title, stating Mercedes-Benz Stuttgart first registered the car on 26 September 1979. Furthermore, this 450 SLC 5.0 is accompanied by a Mercedes-Benz-headed letter, dated October 1986, that verifies its period race results. The history of chassis “836” has been well recorded in many books devoted to the Mercedes-Benz brand. With two podium finishes to its name and brilliant provenance, this 450 SLC 5.0 would make a fine addition to any collection of serious competition cars—and a tempting proposition for historic rallying.
To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/pa23.