The 1979 Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash placed this Mercedes 450SEL 6.9 second. The car has 45,000 miles on it and was just fixed up decently. The end of the sale will be on July 2. Once, the Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 was the fastest car in the world. So, it’s not strange that someone ran in the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. And right now, you might spend your hard-earned money on a piece of car counterculture history that isn’t that important for your garage. On Bring a Trailer, part of Hearst Autos like Car and Driver, there is a 1978 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 for sale with a fascinating history. The seller says that this car came in second in the last run of the 1979 Cannonball. A final race report says a 6.9 came in second, more than eight minutes behind the winner, a Jaguar XJ-S. However, there is no evidence to back up this claim. No matter these claims’ accuracy, this 6.9 has been on BaT’s virtual sale block before. The car was put up for sale in 2017, but more than the end price, $26,000, was needed to meet the reserve. Since the prices of classic cars have gone through the roof in recent years, it wouldn’t surprise us if the floor for this round was even higher. When it was new, the 6.8-liter V-8 engine in this 450SEL made 250 horsepower and 360 pound-feet of torque, which was more than enough to get the big Benz to 140 mph. Since 2020, when the eight-cylinder’s current owner bought it, it has acquired new gaskets, parts for the cooling system, a new battery, and an air conditioning generator. It has an automatic transmission with three speeds that has also been repaired. The stock hydropneumatic suspension on the 6.9 was also just taken care of. Even though aftermarket speakers have been replaced with the 6.9’s original Becker stereo, the black leather inside looks good. Since 2020, some work has been done at this site, like keeping the vacuum-operated door locks in good condition and cleaning the wood trim. Since the speed control doesn’t work, I hope your right foot still does.
