Late last year we found ourselves at the NEC Classic Motor Show, positively fawning over the ex-George Harrison 1984 Mercedes-Benz 500SEL taking centre stage on the Mercedes-Benz Club UK stand. Today, we’re excited to learn that this car will be coming up for auction on Saturday March 24, with Omega Auctions.
This example ticks just about every box possible, and we are sure that it will easily reach, if not exceed, its £40,000 estimate. These older Mercs from the seventies and eighties have spent a fair part of their life in the shadows of their older and more collectable siblings, but we are firmly of the opinion that their day is coming.
The celebrity ownership is certainly the biggest drawcard here. Harrison is rock royalty, and this 500 SEL wasn’t just another car that briefly passed through his ownership. It was a cherished possession – he owned it for 16 years, putting some 30,000 miles on it during that time. It truly was his car.
He was famously filmed driving it in a clip produced to promote his 1991 Japan tour with Eric Clapton.
Even forgetting the Harrison connection, this is still a highly collectable car. It may be a stock 500 SEL under the skin, but on the outside it features the entire AMG parts catalogue – body kit, rear spoiler, wheels, black trim instead of chrome, and AMG embossed steering wheel. It’s particularly cool because AMG wasn’t owned by Mercedes-Benz back in 1984, and there was only one dealer in the UK who could supply these parts. Even forgetting the Harrison connection, it’s a seriously rare car.
And it has a hardwired carphone. Enough said.
Originality is highly prized by collectors, and the ex-Harrison 500 SEL is in great unrestored condition, exactly as he drove it. Its highly original condition, menacing black-on-black spec, and the plethora of original AMG parts would make this car extremely desirable in its own right. Thrown in a genuine Beatles connection and it is sure to break some records.
Interestingly, the auction house charged with its sale specialises in music, TV and film memorabilia, watches, wines, coins and banknotes, militaria, stamps and vintage toys. The sale is a dedicated Beatles Memorabilia Sale, so it’s therefore clear to see what type of buyers are being targeted.
Automotive collectors will no doubt be aware of the sale, however we still wonder if the result would differ had a specialist automotive auction house managed and promoted it.
Either way, we are confident that a record will be broken on March 24. Have a look at our auction results tracking tool below – if the Harrison car makes its £40,000 estimate, it will easily be the most expensive W126 that we’ve ever seen. We think it will.