We all know that rarity impacts value when it comes to collector cars and Mercedes are no exception from that: values on the low production W211 AMG wagons and R63's perfectly illustrate that fact.
Today's offering, listed here on Bringatrailer, takes a slightly different variation on that theme, however. While total production of the W140 CL600 is in the thousands, it is only in the 1999 model year that true rarity for this incredible car emerges. For the W140, Mercedes invested over a billion dollars in research and development and created one of the greatest models in its venerable history. This, of course, did not happen overnight.
So, too, with the then-forthcoming W220 successor which was being developed over many years and known to be arriving for the 2000 model year. Thus, buyers for 1999 variants of all things W140 were, logically, limited as a new, updated version of the S-class was right around the corner.
This is particularly important when you consider the cost of the 1999 S600 Coupe presented here. At over $140,000 in 1999 dollars, this was a $210,000 vehicle when accounting for inflation. That is not a small investment by any measure and, if a new one was right around the corner, why buy in 1999?
Well, the production numbers for that model year reinforce that question as, through the best verifiable reporting, there were only fifteen of these super-coupes imported to North America that year. Thus, this 1/15 V12 super coupe is valuable not only in its inherent capacity, but again in its rarity for the 1999 model year.
Added to that calculation is the fact that this car shows only 35,000 miles, is finished in a desirable black on black (with grey inserts - a.k.a. "tuxedo") interior, and you've got a recipe for what should be an incredibly high sales price for a W140 coupe.
While there's no telling what the end result of this auction will be, estimates over $30,000 are certainly within the realm of possibility; a far cry from values on these W140s just a few short years ago.
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