Some may not recall the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss, but some will never forget it. Consider that when it launched in 2009, McLaren was still two whole years from reinvigorating its own unique line of performance cars that began with the MP4-12C and the current crop of hybrid supercars were still in their R&D infancies. Then consider that Mercedes produced just 75 examples of the SLR McLaren Stirling Moss and none of them were legal for sale in the U.S., what with their diminutive plexiglass windscreens and ostentatious, retro-inspired styling. Then there was the price tag: at $1 million, the car was destined to remain an automotive pipe dream for the majority of its fans. Your odds of even seeing one in the sheetmetal, let alone putting one in your garage or just getting behind the wheel, were not favorable.
To even be considered for the purchase of a brand-new SLR McLaren Stirling Moss, you had to be a “loyal” SLR purchaser. In other words, you would have purchased one of each SLR variant built up to that point, from the standard coupe through the convertible and on to the 722 edition, which celebrated English ex-racer Stirling Moss’s outright victory at the 1955 Mille Miglia behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR bearing the now legendary 722 entry number.
But now, one such owner has offered his 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss up for sale, after putting just over 8,400 km (roughly 5,200 miles) on the odometer. The car is being offered as part of RM Sotheby’s Villa Erba sale, held in conjunction with the Villa d’Este concours weekend on the shores of Lake Como, Italy. The auction house estimates that the car will fetch somewhere between €1.85 and €2.2 million if it sells (that’s roughly $2.06 to $2.45 million in U.S. dollars).
We’ve only seen a couple of these 641-hp, 5.5-liter supercharged V-8 supercars come to market at dealerships in the past several years, each with asking prices in the $3 million range for cars with less mileage than this relatively well-used SLR Stirling Moss (low mileage is very relative in this instance and we’re frankly shocked that the auction car has seen as much use as it has). We’re not aware if either of the other cars sold or was simply tucked back into their owners’ respective collections.
Of course, these cars still aren’t legal for sale or registration in the U.S., but we’re guessing would-be owners are already clearing some space in their garage in St. Tropez, Monaco, or Lake Como, where the coming summer weather should inspire plenty of driving time. Meanwhile, be sure to circle back here to Automobile magazine after the May 25 auction to see how this one sold.
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