Description
1972 Mercedes S300 6. 3
Vin Number: JMO9K
Registration Number: the details below
The original owner of this car was 1960/ 1970 pop icon Donovan. This model is one of the most expensive saloon cars Mercedes have made. The car was built in 1971 but registered in England in 1972. During the time Donovan owned the car it was often driven from his home on the Wentworth Estate in Surrey to the Hard Rock café in London, often at speeds of 100mph plus where possible. The car was also featured in a promotional video with Donovan where it is being driven down the Marylebone Road in London. George Harrison from the Beatles and Bobby Whitlock from Derek and the Dominoes have also travelled in it amongst other celebrities. Donovan also used the car in Ireland for a while.
This car has had an extensive two year restoration. It was then featured in a few magazines, as well as mentions on Radio 2 and Capital Gold. The car has also been featured on the Mercedes Enthusiast calendar, and has been on display at Mercedes Benz World, Brooklands surrey. The car belongs to a media person and is registered for film hire.
The car has been restored using original parts, although all the air pipes and gearbox fluid pipes have been replaced with copper nickel instead of steel pipes. The points and condenser have also been replaced with Pertronix electronic ignition. The interior wood sections have been renovated back to original factory condition.
To retain the original feel and period celebrity vibe most of the car the leather interior has been kept. The leather has been re dyed and is regularly coated and kept at the correct humidity to keep it supple. Despite some small blemishes it is generally considered that the leather interior and carpets are in very good condition for the age. It can be seen that Donovan stuck one of his promotional record stickers on the back of the front driver’s seat and great care was taken to dye around the sticker. Some of the exterior and interior chrome work is original, although most has been replaced. To keep the original feel of the interior the sill tread plates are original although due to wear some of them have small scratches.
As can be seen from the long rear doors it was a car built to be chauffeured in. The car is considered advanced for its years as it uses adjustable self-levelling air suspension coupled with a large 6. 3 litre twin camshaft fuel injected V8 engine, which delivers plenty of power and torque. Acceleration of 0-60 mph is approximately 6 seconds. On a run you can achieve 12 mpg, around town approximately 8 mpg. It is possible to cruise at 90/ 100mph quite comfortably. It was for its time the fastest saloon car around for many years.
Their were only approximately 650 of these cars made in right hand drive, and over the years most have been broken up mainly due to a combination of very high restoration costs, technical complexity and hard to locate spare parts. At present market prices it is often uneconomical to fully restore these cars as the restoration costs far outweigh what they are presently worth. This 6. 3 car is classed as one of the best right hand drive models in existence. The car is complete with the original sales brochure, Logbook, pink card, many tax discs and MOT certificates as well as the original German oval shaped plates. There is also a photograph of the car parked next to a Rolls Royce used by the Beatles. Interestingly there is still a box of toothpicks used by Donovan in the glove box.
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Sales & Valuations
Vintage & Prestige of Northampton Ltd.
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Showroom:
2 Ryehill Ct, Lodge Farm Industrial Estate, Northampton NN5 7UA
Viewings & Visits Strictly by appointment only please. We have on site long term storage for over 200 cars with 24 hour security & covered trailer delivery to customers anywhere in Europe.
