Only 57 Mercedes SEC coupes from the W126 generation have been transformed into exclusive models with butterfly doors by tuner Styling Garage. Auction house Sotheby is selling one of these examples at an auction in Munich on November 23, 2024.
The second-generation Mercedes S-Class, the W126, was one of the last classic Mercedes models renowned for reliability. It was available in limousine and coupe SEC versions, being equipped with inline 6-cylinder and V8 engines.
The SEC coupe had only V8 versions: the 380 SEC (1981-1985) with the 3.8 liter V8 and 218 PS and the 500 SEC (1981-1985) with the 5 liter V8 and 241 PS.
After the fall 1985 facelift, the coupe was available with a new 4.2-liter V8 with 204 PS called the 420 SEC, along with the 500 SEC with the 5.0-liter V8 and 265 PS, and the new 560 SEC with the 5.6-liter V8 and 299 PS.
But, always, people with money want more, and the financially potent were turning to the tuned models from AMG, Brabus, and Styling Garage. While AMG and Brabus were developing more powerful engines and aerodynamic kits, Styling Garage modified the body of the SEC coupe. Styling Garage’s Chris Hahn developed a convertible version (Marbella) and modified a coupe by adopting gullwing doors instead of the classic ones. Only 57 examples were built, with most customers coming from the USA and the Arab world.
The example up for auction was modified in May 1984. It had additional reinforcements to the roof and sills to accommodate the gullwing doors – a conversion that virtually doubled the already steep DM 83,000 price of the production model.
This Mercedes 500 SEC was imported to the USA by Selection Import and later registered by a Ferrari collector residing in Oakland, California. Subsequently, the car returned to Germany and was purchased by the current owner in March 2010, and since then, it has been serviced by Mercedes-Benz dealer Autohaus Weicker GmbH. The hydraulic gullwing door opening system has been overhauled, and there is a 5,848 euro invoice for this.
The car is painted white, as are the bumpers and the Mercedes logo, an 80s tradition. The carved wooden gear shifter and two red door-operating buttons on the center console above the audio system indicate the conversion. The gray leather upholstery has white stitching and custom carpets are offered.
At the time, the conversion doubled the car’s price to DM 83,000. The car went for 166,000 DM, equivalent to 83,000 euros today. Auction house Sotheby’s, which is putting this model up for auction on November 23, 2024, at the Motorworld in Munich, is estimating a selling price of between 350,000 and 400,000 euros, ten times more than a 500 SEC with normal doors cost and five times more than this new 500 SEC with gullwing doors cost.
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