For 43 years, 92-year-old man hid a million-dollar Mercedes: Now it’s sold

A 92-year-old British man has quietly been hiding a Mercedes 500 SL for 43 years.

The car was bought new in the early 1980s and has hardly ever been on the road.

According to Autoevolution, the car is now worth more than 650.000 dollars.

Delivered in the UK in 1982, the car is equipped with right-hand drive and has just 67 kilometers on the odometer.

The only non-original part of the car is an emblem that the retired watchmaker had made himself in solid silver.

The car has been stored in a closed garage and was not shown to anyone, including family and friends, for decades.

The story was first brought to light by Sam Bailey, who met the car’s owner, Mr. Hugh Hough. Hugh Hough, at a vintage car show in 2011.

– He came up to me and told me he had one of these cars at home in his garage. I have a 1982 Mercedes-Benz 500SL at home. I’ve never driven it, Mr. Hough told Bailey.

The car had 6.7 kilometers on it at the time, he said.

The car has now changed hands

Although Sam Bailey became aware of its unique history at the time, it was more than a decade before the British watchmaker was ready to sell the car.

In the summer of 2025, it was sold to SLSHOP, who now own the car.

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However, it is not disclosed how much the company paid.

According to Bailey, the car was transported under strict conditions to ensure that its original condition was not compromised.

– It has given us at SLShop so much pleasure to be chosen as the next to look after the car. It’s a big deal. It really is a big deal,” said Sam Bailey at the time of the purchase.

The car was originally purchased for what today is the equivalent of approximately 90.000 dollars, adjusted for inflation.

With its 8-cylinder, 5-liter engine, it has hardly been driven for the past four decades.

SLSHOP has not stated whether the car will be exhibited or stored under the same conditions in the future.