A Mercedes-Benz costs one and a half times more than gold of the same weight, even as gold prices hit record highs

“As good as gold” is often used to highlight the incredible value of something. After all, precious metals have always been considered one of the best and most stable investments, especially now that gold prices have hit an all-time high.

The legendary Ferrari 250 GTO has topped the list of the world's most valuable cars for decades. But that title now belongs to the ultra-rare 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé. The car sold for $143 million at a private auction in 2022.

With the world gold price reaching a record high of $2,406.7 per ounce in January 2024, a typical 1,800kg family sedan would have to cost $153 million to be worth as much as gold.

However, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe is based on the 300 SLR ultra-lightweight racing car and is designed to be road legal.

As a result, the gullwing sports car weighs just 1,117kg (39,401 ounces). After doing some simple math, it can be seen that at the auction price above, each ounce of the Uhlenhaut Coupé is worth $3,629.30.

That means every ounce of this Mercedes-Benz is worth $1,231.34 more than gold. If the entire weight of the car were converted into gold, that amount of gold would only be worth $94.48 million.

It's a fact that many people are shocked by. But if you look at the history of the car, you can understand why. At least the world doesn't have only two gold bars like Mercedes-Benz only made two 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupes. One of the two belonged to Uhlenhaut himself.

Named after chief engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut, the car was a road-going version of the W 196 R Grand Prix. As such, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe had a formidable power output from its 3.0L inline-8 engine, allowing the car to reach a top speed of 290km/h.

This figure cannot be compared to today's cars, but in the era of the car's birth (1950s), the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe was the fastest street-legal car in the world.

Not only that, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe also became one of the most important automotive icons in the world, with its gull-wing doors that became the inspiration for many expensive car models later.