1978 Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC 5.0 ‘RALLYE’

For those that know, the 450SLC 5.0 is quite a special car.

Despite its reserved executive appearance, this is a true homologation special – developed by Mercedes-Benz in order to take the brand to new heights in the world of long-distance endurance rallying.

Lightweight aluminium body panels, an all-alloy version of Mercedes’ legendary M117 V8, and a slightly tweaked rear axle ratio, turned this refined pillarless coupe into a 140mph world-beater on the world’s toughest terrain.

Fewer than 3,000 of these cars were ever built, making them a rare sight on the roads today. But a real treat for those that recognise the importance of the wonderfully discreet ‘5.0’ badge on the rear.

This particular example was first registered in January 1978 for the Danish market.

Previously on display at a Hungarian museum, lightly converted into rally specification and campaigned at a number of local events – like the 2010 MECSEK Historic Rallye.

The car was then purchased by Australian rally verteran, Rob Garnsworthy, via the world renowned Mercedes-Benz specialists, Mechantronik, in Germany. Over the next few years, Rob would invest a huge amount of time, money and expertise in developing the car into a serious endurance rally competitor.

The car was then acquired by the current owner in 2018, with a view to entering the car into the infamous London to Sydney event. However, upon inspection, the view was taken that to tackle such an epic and arduous journey, further engineering development was required.

As such, the car was entrusted to Ian Wright in 2019 for a £40,000 overhaul. As you might expect, the result was a remarkably robust and capable rally car. And so it was a huge shame to all involved when the London to Sydney was cancelled due to Covid.

Since then, the car has largely remained in storage, with the exception of a ~8,500 kms European road trip last year, in which it performed faultlessly.

What we have here, then, is a fantastic opportunity to acquire not only a rare piece of Mercedes-Benz’s rich competition history, but a fully prepared entrant to any of the world’s greatest motoring adventures.

Very rarely do historic endurance rally cars combine rarity, style, comfort, performance, reliability and collectibility, all in one package. But this 450SLC 5.0 does, and we urge anyone interested to get in touch and book in a viewing!