Mercedes-Benz SL 450 Dakar

"The V8 engined Mercedes-Benz 450SLC 5.0, or the later 500SLC, might have been big, but it handled extremely well. Even though the cars had automatic transmission, they were very fast, especially on endurance rallies." – Graham Robson, A-Z of Works Rally Cars.

Introduced in 1977, the 450 SLC 5.0 model was powered by a new 4,990cc aluminium-alloy V8 engine that was both lighter and more powerful than the existing 4.5-litre unit. The use of aluminium extended to the bonnet, boot, and wheels, the result being a reduction in weight of over 100kg when compared to the 'old' 450 SLC. With a lower-drag bodyshell, courtesy of spoilers front and rear, the '5.0' was also more efficient aerodynamically than its predecessor, which further reduced fuel consumption, an increasingly important issue, even for sports cars. Not sold in the USA, traditionally Mercedes-Benz's most important market, the '5.0' was built in correspondingly limited numbers, only 2,769 being completed between 1977 and 1981. Maximum speed of the '5.0' was some 10km/h faster than that of the '4.5' at around 225km/h.

As well as numerous racetrack successes in period, the Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC proved equally suited to the contrasting demands of endurance rallying. In 1978 the factory prepared two examples for the one-off Vuelta a la América del Sur, a month-long event of some 7,000 kilometres in length that took the competitors from Buenos Aires and back via Rio, Manaus, Caracas, Bogota, Lima, La Paz, Santiago and Ushuaia. The two Mercedes performed perfectly, with the car driven by Andrew Cowan and Colin Malkin winning by 20 minutes from team-mates Sobiesław Zasada and Andrzej Zembrzuski. Proving that this amazing result was no fluke, in 1979 a 5.0-litre 450 SLC driven by Hannu Mikkola won the Bandama Rally in Côte d'Ivoire, with others finishing 2nd, 3rd and 4th. That same year the factory had used the 450 SLC '5.0' to contest the Safari Rally, only narrowly missing out on victory because of suspension breakages. Nevertheless, the car driven by Hannu Mikkola finished 2nd. Results in 1980 were less good, and the factory team was disbanded at the season's end.

Created using a 450 SLC 5.0 'project car' as the basis, this Mercedes was fully restored and completely rebuilt to Dakar Rally specification by specialists SLC Racing in Slovakia some 4-5 years ago. The donor car 450 SLC 5.0 was in Holland when it was purchased in 2008. A lot of time and effort (many thousands of man-hours) went into this car, which cost over €150,000 to build.

The Mercedes comes with an old Netherlands title; current Slovakian registration documents; and its original chassis plates that were removed. It should be noted that the Slovakian registration documents incorrectly describe this car as a 500 SLC.