The World’s Most Expensive Car

On May 5, 2022, a secretive event took place at the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart, Germany. Mercedes put up one of two 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupes up for auction, and when the hammer came down, the price was a record-breaking $142 million dollars — making the car the most expensive ever sold. The 300 SLR was designed by Mercedes engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut for the 1955 Carrera Panamericana, but the infamous tragedy at Le Mans, where Mercedes driver Pierre Levegh and his SLR flew into the crowd, killing 83 people, led to Mercedes leaving racing for over three decades. The proceeds from the sale will go to the Mercedes-Benz Fund, established to provide scholarships and education to students around the world.