EX-STRANGLERS MERC SE GOES UNDER THE HAMMER
MB 280 featured on Hugh Cornwell solo album in 1997
A1971 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 ( W111) is to cross the block during Classic Car Auctions’ 19 September sale – after 28 years in the care of former The Stranglers vocalist, Hugh Cornwell.
Estimated at £60k-£70k, the car was restored extensively in 2002; its floors, wings, doors and boot floor were renewed (complete with photographic evidence) at a cost of £8500. Five years earlier, it had appeared in the cover art of Cornwell’s solo album, Guilty.
The SL Shop’s sales manager, Bruce Greetham, who has sold and restored several W111s over the years, said: ‘Surely this car should be Golden Brown? Thankfully it isn’t, because the colour really sells this car.
‘Celebrity ownership doesn’t necessarily mean a higher price.
The market is currently vibrant, and a V8-engined W111 Coupé is a car that buyers still seek. Good cars will always find keen buyers; if the car is right then the price will be driven accordingly.
‘As a company we have restored a number of these cars, and the cost of an extensive restoration is usually in six figures.’
❚ classiccarauctions.co.uk
❚ theslshop.com