Mercedes-Benz 300SL crashpinterest

To quote the irritating secretary from Office Space, it would appear we’ve got a pretty heavy “case of the Mondays” on our hands—or, at least, two German fellows have one. That’s because the classic Mercedes-Benz 300SL they were piloting through a stage of this year’s Mille Miglia was struck down via collision with a BMW 1-series hatchback. According to reports (complete with more photos) from Tusciaweb and Giornale de Brescia, everyone involved escaped with non-fatal injuries, although the same cannot be said of the Mercedes.

The Italian outlets also are reporting that the Benz in question is valued at up to €800,000, which translates to about $1.1 million at current exchange rates. While we can’t confirm that exact figure for this exact car, the valuation can’t be far off. The 300SL is one of the greatest Benzes of all time, a true roadgoing race car that brought the latest technology to customers (for a king’s ransom). Mercedes endowed the car a tubular steel chassis, a 240-hp direct-injected straight-six canted to one side for a lower center of gravity, and those glorious gullwing doors. Hopefully this one can be resurrected, since only 1400 were produced from 1954–1957.

Mercedes-Benz Vehicles For Sale Near You

See all results for used Mercedes-Benz for sale near 60323



We first happened on news of the crash via the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing & Roadster Facebook page:

Headshot of Alexander Stoklosa
Alexander Stoklosa
Online Editor
Alexander Stoklosa has been editing, writing, and reviewing cars for Car and Driver since 2010. Occasionally, he takes a subpar photograph or whips together a cheesy illustration to the chagrin of C/D’s art staff. More often he can be found taking needlessly contrarian positions in inter-office car debates.