This £115m motor is the most expensive car in the world

A 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupes has just been sold for £115million, making it the most expensive car on the planet.

Auction house RM Sotheby's has confirmed it sold the motor to a private collector at a top-secret auction hosted at Mercedes' museum in Germany on 5 May.

RM Sotheby's said the car, which is one of two created in 1955, has "always been regarded as one of the great jewels of motoring history"

The auction house added it had worked in close cooperation with Mercedes-Benz throughout the entire sale process to "ensure it was concluded to the highest possible standard".

Proceeds from the sale will be used to establish a worldwide Mercedes-Benz Fund that will "provide educational and research scholarships in the areas of environmental science and decarbonisation for young people," the car maker said.

"We are proud that we can contribute with our historical collection to this initiative connecting the past with the future of engineering and decarbonisation technology'", Marcus Breitschwerdt, head of Mercedes-Benz Heritage told the Mail.

He added: "The private buyer has agreed that the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe will remain accessible for public display on special occasions, while the second original 300 SLR Coupé remains in company ownership and will continue to be displayed at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart."

Meanwhile, the former record price for a car is believed to be a sum of £52million for a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO bought privately in 2018.

It was reportedly purchased by American businessman David MacNeil from German racing driver Christian Glaesel but because it was a private sale, the record price has never officially been rubberstamped.

Some people have more money than sense...

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