1988 | Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC

The unicorn SEC, the car that doesn’t exist; an immaculate, original, low mileage, low owner 560. All boxes ticked.

The SEC is a bahnstorming icon of the 80s; the big, powerful luxury coupé the world desired, from Tokyo to LA. The handsome, Sacco-styled lines never dated, but to keep the SEC match-fit into the latter half of the 80s, against increasingly powerful opposition, the 500 lost its crown to the new 560. Stretching the M117 to its maximum, the new V8 had 300bhp and, perhaps most importantly, prodigious mid-range torque. The 560SEC has always been the one everyone wanted.

Finished in Smoke Silver with Brazil Brown leather trim, and equipped with all the accessories that came as standard only on the 560, including memory seats, two-tone horn, air conditioning, cruise control and Becker Mexico stereo.

Purchased new in the summer of 1988 by a Mr Hadley of Nottingham through a Belgian MB dealer to UK right-hand drive spec.

Mr Hadley kept the car 29 years until 2017, at which point it had covered just 31k miles. Since then, it has had two collector owners.

All original books and manuals come with the car, in immaculate condition. Included is the rarely seen Becker demonstration cassette, which has never been used.

There is a full service history and the file starts with the original order form when new and includes all previous MoTs and servicing invoices.

This car has always been kept inside and used sparingly in good weather since new. That is evident today in its exceptional condition. Quite simply, it is the best 560SEC that we have ever seen.

While there are seemingly plenty of low mileage R107 SLs to go around, the same cannot be said for the C126 SEC. Perhaps the 2-seat convertible’s impractical nature meant buyers tended to own them as second or third cars, hidden away until the stars aligned and the sun shone. Whereas the four-seat SEC tended to be bought by captains of industry, company directors and famously, F1 drivers. All of whom used the cars – because, let’s face it, they were great driving cars – rather than squirreling them away dehumidified barns.

In summary, an opportunity to acquire one of the very best 560SECs.