Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé, Silver with Red Interior

Built around the W196 Grand Prix car's straight-eight and desmodromic valves, the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe was the closed-roof sibling to the cars that swept the 1955 sports car season, but only two were ever made, kept by chief engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut as his own road-going machines. The smooth silver bodywork, the long teardrop tail, the gullwing-derived cabin and the elegant exit louvres mark it out as something built without compromise for a man who could feel a chassis at the limit. For decades it stayed the great unattainable Mercedes, and when one finally changed hands it became the most valuable car in the world, the dream object at the very top of the marque.

This rendering reads the form correctly: the bare aluminium silver over the long proportions, the wire wheels and the deep red leather cabin glimpsed through the wraparound glass. The finish stays cool and honest to the original alloy. It is built at 1:18 on a presentation base.