Mercedes-Benz sold the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe this past spring for a breath-taking record-breaking amount of money. The 1 of the 2 examples ever built went for 135 million euros (about the same amount in dollars). But who is the one who bought it?
The car was sold through a private action via RM Sotheby’s and the auction house has built quite a fortress of mystery around it. But so far we know that the winning bid was reportedly forwarded by Simon Kidston, as per GTSpirit. Kidston is a British classic car dealer, collector, commentator and journalist and words can even come close to describing his love for classics. The list of his customers includes celebrities such as Ralph Lauren and several worldwide known collectors.
The 54-year old owns a spectacular private collection himself, with the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe being the cherry on top. A 1938 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet, that was originally built for his father, will keep the Mercedes company in his garage. He actually drove the Benz thirteen years ago and fell in love with it. A charismatic figure in the classic cars world, he had no idea back then that making that car his own was only a matter of time.
How did it all start? This past March, in an interview with Gazette Drouot, he said he never actually meant to build a collection. “They are just cars that I love and care about.”
How it all began for Simon Kidston
His first classic was a 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta, which he bought in the early 1990s. But he hit the jackpot with a Lamborghini Miura SV in 1996. Another one came in 1998. He loved the Miuras so much that he published a book about them two years ago.
He was actually inches away from buying an Aston Martin when he was 17, with money he had received from his father. But he soon learned that insurance for that car at that particular age would have been three times the price of the car. And that was it, the story seemed to end before it even began. But that was far from happening. It was just the beginning.
Currently splitting time between his home in London, Dubai and Geneva, he is also a magazine contributor. He signs columns in Classic Cars and Sports Car Market, while being a guest contributor for Vanity Fair and Top Gear. And he sure is what the automotive world calls a connoisseur. The purchase of the most expensive Mercedes-Benz ever sold in an auction, the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut coupe, is Simon Kidston’s password to that exclusive circle.