A unique Mercedes of the founder of American AMG will be put up for auction (33 photos)

The luxurious and seriously modified sedan with history is expected to fetch up to 200 thousand dollars.





Auction house RM Sotheby’s will auction off a 1984 Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL with its own name Blueberry at the end of March. In addition to numerous modifications from AMG, the car is also notable for its history. Four decades ago, it was built as a Christmas present for the founder and director of the North American division of AMG Richard Buxbaum, and the sedan is put up for sale directly from his personal collection.

The car got its name Blueberry for the special Lapis Blue Metallic body color, which Mercedes-Benz rarely used and for a short time. The four-door was painted in this shade on the personal initiative of the head of AMG, Hans Werner Aufrecht, to whom Buxbaum had recently complained about the lack of bright colors in the SE and SEL color range. Aufrecht decided to surprise his partner and create a car especially for him that would refute this thesis.

The bright body came with a redesigned interior. The standard velor upholstery was replaced with gray leather and zebrawood inserts, a new steering wheel and seats from the S-class coupe were installed, and the door panels were completely replaced - this operation was entrusted to the Gemballa studio. Bilstein shock absorbers and new wheels with inserts in the body color were used in the sedan's suspension. The 270-horsepower, 5.0-liter V8 was left stock, but was accompanied by a custom exhaust system, and the transmission received a proprietary differential.

Richard Buxbaum owned the car for a little over a year, using it both as personal transportation and as a taxi for high-ranking clients. In 1986, he couldn’t resist an offer from billionaire Rick Cohen and parted with the sedan, after which the 500 SEL had several more owners, but in 2022 Buxbaum bought the Blueberry back and spent about $120,000 on its restoration.

Auctioneers especially note that this remarkable sedan is being put up for public auction for the first time, and call it one of the iconic representatives of the AMG line before the company's merger with Mercedes-Benz.























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