Two years after Diego Maradona’s death, his first Mercedes-Benz is back on sale: how much they ask

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On November 25, 2020, Diego Maradona shook the world for the last time with the final dribble. His death, one of the strongest impacts during the confinement due to the coronavirus pandemic, transformed him into a myth and made much of what belonged to him become the object of desire. Among these, the cars, of which Diego was a fan. It should therefore come as no surprise that his first Mercedes-Benz, the one he was given as a gift in 1980, went on sale for the second time in less than a year.

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It is precisely the opportunity that presents itself on the market, blatantly leaked a few hours before the second anniversary of Diez’s death. For this reason, an increase in the price paid for the model is expected, one of the first vehicles that Maradona drove, together with a legendary Fiat 128 that remains in Argentina.

It has just been months since RM Sotheby’s auctioned off the Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC from 1980 which was Maradona’s first big car, a gift from a group of Argentinos Juniors fans on the eve of his transfer to Boca as a thank you for all the joys. But now Bonhams is looking for an owner again… and this time they are hoping to raise up to seven times as much for the exclusive coupé.

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The sports car – in a furious red, in tone with the La Paternal club shirt – was in fact sold last March in Fort Lauderdale, in the United States, for the final figure of 37,400 dollars, including the auction house’s commission. But now it will be the star of a major Parisian event scheduled for February 2 where, according to the auction house’s own estimates, the auction will drop only when the offer is around $250,000.

The luxury setting in which the auction will take place will certainly help to reach that figure: the car will be one of the many protagonists of the 2023 edition of the Grand Marques du Monde à Paris, held in the Grand Ephemeral Palace, an emblematic building in the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

It is an exclusive event reserved for collectors of all time which year after year attracts the most sought-after specimens in the world; in 2022, without going any further, that’s where millions of specimens of the always coveted Ferrari La Ferrari and Bugatti EB110 GT were paid for -respectively 2,200,000 and 1,817,000 euros-, in addition to the 1,345,500 euros that a Porsche 904 GTS of the 1964 that once belonged to Robert Redford.

How is Diego Maradona’s Mercedes-Benz?

Bonhams confirms this Maradona’s Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC It roughly retained the low mileage it reported in March –61,369 kilometers at that time–, and which continues to be in perfect condition thanks to “having been well maintained throughout its life and being professionally restored by its supplier”.

A status symbol for those times, This Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC is one of only 816 examples produced by the German brand in 1980. It is equipped with a V8 engine made entirely of aluminum – a material also used in part of the bodywork to lighten its weight -, with a displacement of 5 liters which allows it to deliver 243 HP of power with which, associated with a three-speed automatic gearbox, it reaches a maximum speed of 209 kilometers per hour.

Beyond the high-performance mechanics, comfort is also key in a luxury vehicle in this segment and in this area Maradona’s Mercedes-Benz is no different: Among other advantages, its elegance in design is accompanied by black leather upholstery, an electric sunroof, cruise control and a highly appreciated but not so popular air conditioning system at the time.

Diego had this four-seater coupé in his possession for just over a year, until December 1981, but it had a very important symbolic value in his sporting career: it was with this Mercedes, that the fans purchased at the Juan Manuel Fangio dealershipthat on the 10th he left home for the Bicho field, where the historic stage man Galíndez gave him his shiny boots for the last time, to then begin the away match at the Bombonera, where he would play his first minutes with the blue and gold.

Since then, the car has changed hands several times: in July 2011, for example, it was sold in Córdoba for $17,500, and weeks later, in October, it returned to look for a new home, this time for $50,000. dollars. . Now he will set foot on European soil for the first timeand while it’s still impossible to know how much he’ll be paid, it’s clear that expectations are high.

Source: Clarin

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