- The Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0 was the first rally car to win a WRC event with a V8 engine or an automatic transmission.
- This one, number 4, came in second at the rally car’s inaugural race, assisting Bjorn Waldegard win the 1979 WRC title.
- Offered for sale at RM Sotheby’s Monaco auction, it’s expected to sell for as much as $1.1 million.
Although we consider Group B the golden age of rallying, the era that preceded it was pretty good, too. This 1979 Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC 5.0 is a testament to that time’s spirit of experimentation.
As one of the four cars fielded by the automaker for the 1979 Bandama Rally Cote d’Ivoire, this particular 450 SLC, number 4, finished the race in second place, with Bjorn Waldegard and Hans Thorszelius in the cockpit. Although it is not the car that earned the important first victory, it did end up winning Waldegard that year’s world rally championship driver’s title by a single point.
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The winning car, driven by Hannu Mikkola, became the first rally car to ever win a WRC race with a V8 under the hood, or an automatic transmission handling the gears.
The V8 under the hood was new then, made of aluminum for a significantly lighter weight. A specially developed automatic transmission, in addition to an alloy hood and trunk, as well as thinner steel doors, turned the 450 SLC into a serious competitor.
As one of just 19 cars built for international rallying and one of just seven officially badged as a 450 SLC 5.0, this particular example is an exceedingly special rally car. After its momentous first season of racing, it was sent straight back into the thick of it.
In 1980, it went to the Marlboro Safari Rally in Kenya, finishing third, and later that year was used as a training car in Argentina. By 1982, it was sold to Serge Beankens (aka Serge Power), who decided to remove the aluminum engine, replace it with a more reliable steel version, and take it to endurance racing.
The car ran the 1982 24 Hours of Spa driven by Claude Bourgoingnie, Alain Lierneux, and someone whose name you might recognize from another high-performance product, John Cooper, finishing eighth.
By 1984, Serge Beankens decided to put the aluminum engine back in and sell it to Dr. Peter Lorenz, who chose to restore it back to 1979 spec. Today, it sports the same livery it wore at the 1979 Bandama Rally Cote d’Ivoire.
A unique piece of Mercedes history, the car is now being auctioned off and will be sold with a wide array of documentation. Set to cross the block at RM Sotheby’s Monaco Auction, which runs from May 10 to 11, this 1979 Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0 “Rallyewagen” is expected to go for between $850,000 and $1.1 million.
