Imagine being rich. But not just a little bit rich, I’m talking rich enough to have “screw you” money. Rich enough to make the entire internet love and hate you at the same time, while also doing something cool for yourself.
Thursday saw the closing of a Bring a Trailer auction for a beautiful 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing. It was auctioned off after being bid into the low seven-figures for weeks—Thursday, it would all be over. But just how high would the bidding go, and is the Gullwing really worth its asking price?
A total of 1,400 Gullwings were produced from 1954 through 1957, 300 of which were made in 1956. This particular example was a well-preserved steel body car finished in brautiful Graphite Gray. Its presentation and condition made the car a pristine example with the history to back it up. Auction lurkers shared their stories about having a Gullwing encounter during their lifetime, and a previous owner of the car even showed up in the comments to consider bringing it back into their life.
But remember, nostalgia is priceless, especially when you have a virtually unlimited supply of cash and love for cars.
At 1:56 p.m., a bid was placed on the 300SL by a user called “carlovers.” And it wasn’t a small bit either. In fact, the bidding war on the Gullwing had swollen its value to $1,101,000 by this time.
Not to be outdone, another user, HlBlanton, stepped in just two minutes later and waved his metaphorical bid card.
“$1,234,567 bid placed” read the screen, highlighted for its significance.
It was then when carloves conceded to HlBlanton, surrendering the winning bid.
Now, we’re not surprised the Gullwing went for the amount that it did. Just last year, another 300SL sold for $1.1 million and it wasn’t in nearly the same shape as the example auctioned off this time around. What we are surprised about is the sheer jump in value that HlBlanton made, just so they could have a cool number. They bid an extra $133,567 just to make the final buying price $1,234,567.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the definition of “screw you” money.