Since 1967, Rudi Klein had quietly amassed an astonishing collection of some of the world’s most revered automobiles—along with an Everest of parts—at his junkyard. The treasure trove included the rarest of rare examples from Lamborghini, Porsche, Ferrari, and Mercedes-Benz, stored in various states of disrepair, either in ramshackle steel sheds or out in the open. There were whispered rumors that a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL “Alloy” Gullwing was stashed away among the automotive exotica; rumors which have now been verified.
After Klein died in 2001, the junkyard was taken over by his two sons who maintained the same level of secrecy. That was until earlier this year when the brothers decided to sell. RM Sotheby’s was tasked with orchestrating the auction, which takes center stage on October 26 when “The Junkyard: The Rudi Klein Collection” goes under the hammer.
One of 29 examples built, this neglected Mercedes-Benz 300 SL “Alloy” Gullwing will cross the RM Sotheby’s auction block with no reserve.
Patrick Ernzen, courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
“The 300 SL is arguably the star of the collection and, without doubt, one of the most exciting postwar Mercedes-Benz to be offered in decades,” says Cary Ahl, collection specialist at RM Sotheby’s. “Yet it was only when we started delving into its history did we discover just how special the car is.”
While a total of 1,400 examples of the 300 SL coupe—with its iconic gullwing doors—were built between 1954 and 1957, only 29 were the alloy-bodied competition version. The Rudi Klein car is the 26th of 29 and manufactured in January 1956. Ahl explains that the special order Leichtmetallausführung (or “Light Metal Version”) not only came with an aluminum body, but other weight-shaving features such as knock-off Rudge wheels and Plexiglas for the rear and side windows—modifications…