Mercedes claims record price for rare winged car at auction

BERLIN (AP) — German automaker Mercedes-Benz explained Thursday that it has auctioned an exceptionally unusual car from its firm collection for a roaring 135 million euros ($143 million).

The company stated the price tag compensated by a non-public collector earlier this month for the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé, with its distinct gullwing doors, will make it the most precious car or truck of all time. The claim couldn’t be independently verified.

Mercedes Benz reported the proceeds would be utilized to start a fund offering scholarships for younger people to discover about and analysis environmental science and decarbonization. The greenhouse fuel carbon dioxide, introduced by burning fossil fuels, is mainly blamed for local weather improve.

The auto was one particular of just two prototypes crafted in 1955, and named right after the company’s then-chief engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut.

“We would like to motivate a new technology to observe in Rudolf Uhlenhaut’s revolutionary footsteps and build remarkable new systems, notably all those that support the vital target of decarbonization and resource preservation,” the CEO of Mercedes-Benz Team, Ola Kallenius, explained.

The firm’s claimed its collection comprises some 1,100 cars and trucks dating again to 1886.