Evaluation: One of 200 300Sc models built and the 16th of just 53 Roadsters. Sold new in New York, finished in white over black. Restored about 25 years ago and has reportedly been driven just 551 miles since. Leather shows light wrinkling, and the gauges and switchgear similarly show light aging. Very clean engine bay and trunk show barely any signs of use. The paint looks presentable but there are no shots close enough to get a true sense of the finish.
Bottom Line: It’s not a 300SL, but the 300Sc shares the SL’s engine and cutting edge (at the time) fuel-injection system, and it is a hand-built Mercedes flagship that actually cost more than a Gullwing when new. Internally known as the W188, the 300Sc was available as a coupe, cabriolet, or roadster, and today the cabs and roadsters are worth roughly the same kind of money. Which is why this aged but still handsome roadster’s modest price here was a bit of a surprise. It went to Amelia Island five years ago to an $800,000 no-sale, and it’s no less desirable than it was then. Bonhams also sold another, albeit fresher, roadster at its online “Quail” auction last year for $951,000, so this one could have brought more without being expensive.
