We recently published a blog article about the auction sale of a unique Ford Escort RS Turbo once owned by Diana, Princess of Wales. The car achieved a price of almost three-quarters of a million pounds when it was auctioned by Warwickshire-based Silverstone Auctions. However, the Escort was not the only vehicle of note to go under the hammer at that sale on Saturday 27th August 2022. Another star of the show was a 1966 Mercedes-Benz 230SL that had belonged to iconic racing driver Sir Stirling Moss.
"Who do you think you are, Stirling Moss?"
In 2007, the Regtransfers team had the good fortune to enjoy an interview with Sir Stirling for our magazine, The World of Personal Number Plates. Sir Stirling was, and remains, a legend of British motor racing. His was the name popularly used as a byword for any person who drove extremely fast. In a 1977 TV ad for the then-new Renault 20, a police officer taps on the side window of a Renault and enquires of the driver "Who do you think you are, Stirling Moss?". Of course, the driver is revealed to be Moss himself, who claimed that the same thing had happened to him in real life.
Smitten with Mercedes-Benz
Stirling Moss had been a successful racing driver for the Daimler Benz AG team in the mid-1950s and he had a high opinion of Mercedes-Benz production cars. He was particularly smitten with the Mercedes-Benz 230SL (W113), a model nicknamed the 'Pagoda' due to the shape of its cabin and roof. Moss stated that of all the road cars he had driven, the Pagoda was the one he would most like to own. He also coveted the 230SL's stablemate, the 250SL, which had a more powerful engine, but that model was not available in a right-hand drive version at the time.
A one of a kind 230SL
Stirling Moss, however, was Stirling Moss and his connections at Mercedes, and his status as one of the most accomplished drivers in the world, opened up possibilities not available to ordinary mortals. Mercedes went to some lengths to ensure that Moss received the car he wanted: they beefed up his 230SL with the more powerful unit from the 250SL, testing and specially selecting the example that would give the best performance. They also incorporated a custom roof vent in accordance with Moss's specific requirements.
The 'Moss Pagoda'
The efforts that went into the construction of the car were appreciated and Moss loved it and adorned the Mercedes with his M 7 personal number plate - a registration number that he later let go but regretted parting with.
By the time the Pagoda went on sale with Silverstone Auctions, it had changed hands a few times but had, since the 1970s, been owned by a Northern Ireland Mercedes enthusiast and dealer named Jack McAleer. When Mr McAleer passed away, the car remained in the family. The registration number BOI 3 that the car bore when it went to auction was, apparently, assigned in the 1970s, shortly before Mr McAleer acquired it.
The 'Moss Pagoda' was sold by Silverstone essentially unchanged (except for the colour) since it had been owned by Moss. As a desirable car in its own right, and a real piece of motoring history, the eventual sale price of £177,750 seems almost modest.
Image credit: Silverstone Auctions
