1978 | Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC

Lot details

Year: 1978
Make: Mercedes-Benz
Model: 450 SLC
Registration: BRX 249T
Chassis No: 10702422023003
Engine No: 11798522032434
Odometer: 106,686

• Two owners from new
• A very well-maintained car

The Mercedes SLC (C for coupe) was launched in 1971 and was initially offered with a relatively small 3.5 litre engine. The need for a higher performance variant became clear fairly quickly, and the 450 came along a year later. With a 4520cc V8 engine under the bonnet mated to a three-speed automatic gearbox, the SLC finally had the performance to match its looks. The buying public clearly agreed because the 450 SLC outsold the 350 SLC by more than two to one. The legendary motoring writer LJK Setright rated the Mercedes 450 SLC very highly, much more so than the convertible 450 SL upon which it was based, driving him to become uncharacteristically effusive: “The SLC was surely never intended as a sportscar. It is so elegant, so superbly balanced in line and form, so exquisitely contoured to look beautiful from any viewpoint that to subject it to the gross indignities of any kind of track would be sheer vandalism. And yet the car begs to be driven in a sporting way, positively solicits the fast corner, the fine balancing of foot and hand, of centripetal and centrifugal accelerations. It is surely the best Mercedes-Benz ever to have been built for common sale.” The 450 SLC is more suited to long-distance touring than inch-perfect track use, but it is still, even today, a rapid, reliable and economical to cover vast distances in complete comfort. It was also the most expensive car in the range at the time.

This loverly 1978 Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC was purchased by the vendor, a doctor, over thirty years ago from the original first owner when it had covered 50,000 miles, he used it as his everyday car. Fitted with electric windows and an electric roof it has been fully maintained and looked after, including replacing sill panels and rear wheel arches. The car is fitted with air conditioning, but it is currently disconnected. The car has been repainted at some point and is in very good condition apart from some small bubbling on the bonnet. It is supplied with a good service history up to 2013 and has some invoices from marque specialists Roger Edwards and Steve Redfern. Finished in brown with tan cloth interior, this Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC is supplied with a V5 registration document, an MoT test certificate which expires in May 2026, the original handbook pack and file of invoices. This is the ideal continental tourer, and the vendor tells us that this is the car he would be happy to drive to Scotland and back. Consigned by John Tomlin