Mercedes is a car company that has officially been in business since 1926. In the long history of the Mercedes brand, there have been many different models that you will probably never see being driven around, due to their value and scarcity.
Rare Mercedes models like the 1954 Mercedes W196 or the 1936 Benz 540K Special Roadster have reached astonishingly high prices, due to rarity and demand. There were only 15-25 of these models combined ever made, and they are thought to be the rarest Mercedes cars because not many of them survived into the 21st century.
Race cars
If a car manufacturer wants to take part in some racing series, one of the conditions to do so is to make a decent amount of homologated road-going versions of their race cars. These road-going versions are usually really expensive, but not as much compared to the race cars.
Mercedes has a long history in motorsport, which is why many of those race cars cost so much. In the early 2000s, Mercedes produced a handful of CLK GTR’s SuperSport Editions. The “regular” CLK GTR was made in limited quantities as well, with as few as 20 vehicles.
The rarest most valuable CLK GTRs are the Roadster Version, with only 6 of them ever being made, or the aforementioned Super Sport edition, with only 5 of them ever produced. The CLK GTR LM car, which took part in the legendary Le Mans Endurance racing series, is also numbered in the single digits.
Probably the most valuable Mercedes of all time is the W196 from 1954. Only 9 of them were ever produced, and one of them sold for $29.6 million in 2013. Not many of them are left.
Prototypes and Concepts
Most prototype and concept cars are made for special purposes. Either to show off the capability of the engineering or design department, or to take part in special movies or video games. These cars are incredibly hard to find. They are produced in quantities so limited, that most people never even hear about them.
One such automobile was the 2014 Mercedes Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo, made for the game Grand Turismo. The car was never intended for production, but 5 of them were built and street legalized.
As far as the rarest Mercedes roadgoing concept cars are concerned, the C111 was one that was introduced at the 1969 Frankfurt Motor Show. There were only 14 of them ever built. These C111s nowadays cost more than $10 million.
Mercedes also built many different interesting concepts in the 2010s, such as the Silver Arrow, the Biome, and the F105. It’s widely unknown how many of these cars they produced, but most believe that they range from 1 to 9 units ever produced.
Classics and sports cars
Mercedes Benz classics are incredibly popular. Some models aren’t all that scarce compared to the aforementioned race cars and concepts, but they still fetch incredible price tags.
The 1936-1944 540K Special Roadster is one of the most popular and sought-after classics in the car collection community. These models sell for well over $10 million, and there were only around 25 of them ever made, with maybe half of them still in decent condition today.
In 1928, Mercedes partnered up with a French company named Saoutchik to produce 6 Mercedes Benz 680S Saoutchik Torpedo tank like cruisers. These cars are insanely rare, and they easily cost more than $10 million. When a car is so rare, it’s almost impossible to say how much they are worth. It’s more about how much are you willing to pay.
In 1935, Mercedes also commissioned 6 “autobahn versions” of the already-impressive 500K model. This idea gave birth to the Mercedes Benz 500k Autobahn Cruiser. It’s a stunning car offering the softest ride for long autobahn cruising at a price in the single-digit million-dollar region.
Mercedes also produced around 150 units of the legendary 1928 Mercedes S-Type 26/120/180 Sports Tourer. Now it may seem like 150 cars is plenty compared to models listed, but only a handful have successfully reached the 21st century. It’s impossible to say how many of these are left, but they also cost in the single-digit million-dollar region.
Common questions about rare cars
What are the rarest cars of all time?
The rarest car of all time is the Ferrari 1956 250 GT Spyder Convertible. There are “plenty” of regular 250 GTO Coupes around, but only one convertible. It’s one of the most desirable classics, if not THE most desirable classic of all time. The car boasts a stunning mid-century aesthetic, acting as somewhat of a time capsule of long-gone beauty.
The rarest concept car of all time is the unusual-looking 70s Aston Martin Bulldog. There was also only one of these made, and it changed hands in 2011 for $1.3 million. The car is equipped with a beastly V8 making 600+ horsepower, and it is thought to be capable of hitting 237 MPH.
There is also only one example of the Maybach Exelero. The land yacht was sold for around $8 million in 2011. It’s a huge car with stunning proportions, weighing in at almost 3 tons.
Can you actually put a price on rare automobiles?
If you want to know how much a regular car is worth, you simply google it. If you want to know how much a limited-edition car is worth, you also just google it. If you want to know how much a really limited automobile costs, well, you can still just google it.
But if you want to find out how much a 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Spyder Convertible is worth or the W196 Mercedes from 1954, you can’t. These cars are so incredibly limited that the price is never fixed. The demand for these types of automobiles is so exaggerated that it’s impossible to know how much any of them would cost if they were actually put up for sale.
What are the effects of limited production on modern cars?
Limited production cars are booming right now, especially in the super/sports car market. Almost every limited-edition Porsche 911 worth discussing costs the same or quite often even more than when it came out.
Depreciation for these types of cars is fairly mild. Manufacturers realize this, so they keep on pumping an unlimited number of limited-edition cars. As far as supercars are concerned, these are the types of cars everyone wants to own, so they also shoot up in value as soon as they hit the road.
However, the market is slowly becoming more and more saturated with limited edition vehicles, which leads some to believe that the era of the limited-edition supercar will come to an end, causing a disturbance in the supercar market.
A limited-edition V8 Ferrari is somewhat of a favorite child in the supercar segment, but gone are the days of these cars being sold almost instantly. Nowadays, the Ferrari 488 Pista (a limited-edition V8 Ferrari) is a fairly regular sight in the supercar showroom, not being sold for the MSRP. This is beginning to make sense, as these limited editions are not that limited after all.