One to Buy: 1984 Mercedes-Benz C126 500 SEC Styling Garage 500 SGS Gullwing
After the best part of 15 years during which bespoke coachbuilding had all but died out, a new era for highly individual customisation began during the late 1970s. The period that followed saw an explosion of European and US companies emerge that would transform standard machinery into elaborately engineered specials that often retailed at multiples of the original car’s list price.
The undoubted hotbed for the super tuner industry was Germany where the likes of AMG, Koenig, B+B, DP, Kremer, Gemballa and Lorinser were all based.
Another legendary outfit to emerge from this region was Styling Garage of Hamburg who specialised in high end conversions of the Mercedes-Benz W126 S-class saloon and its sister C126 SEC Coupe.
Alongside its extravagant 1000 SEL, Styling Garage was best known for Gullwing conversions of the SEC, a rarely seen example of which will be going under the hammer at RM Sotheby’s Munich auction on November 23rd.
One of a reputed 57 examples built (most of which were exported to the Middle East), chassis ‘25775’ was completed in May 1984 and dispatched to a Californian customer via Selections Import.
Configured in white with grey upholstery, in addition to its Gullwing conversion the car was optioned with custom bumpers and skirts, all-white body trim, BBS alloy wheels, tuned suspension, a Styling Garage-branded AMG steering wheel, white-faced gauges and a wooden gear lever carved into the shape of a falcon’s head.
Having returned to Germany in 2010, this fabulous example of eighties excess has today covered a little over 62,000 miles and is offered in very good condition throughout.
Reprinted below is RM Sotheby’s description:
Estimate: €350,000 - €400,000
Chassis No.: WDB1260441A025775
Registration: German Fahrzeugbrief
Thought to be one of 57 examples of the C126-series 500 SEC converted to ‘Gullwing’ specification by Styling Garage
Formerly registered in California before returning to Germany in 2010
Classic white exterior is characterised by upswept ‘Gullwing’ doors and lowered stance with split-rim BBS alloy wheels
Grey leather interior is equally special with custom steering wheel, floormats, and carved wooden ‘falcon head’ automatic gear shifter
In the 1980s, if you desired an automotive one-off and had the financial backing to afford it, then Styling Garage (SGS), in Hamburg, had many options covered. This customising concern, run by engineer Chris Hahn, offered its wealthy customers almost anything they desired. Requests ranged from gold-plating to substantial body rebuilds, with regular customers including rich sheikhs, celebrities of the Western world, and world leaders.
SGS made its name converting W126- and C126-series Mercedes-Benz models. Among its most memorable offerings was the four-seater Marbella convertible—based on the SEC—though the real head turner was its 500 SEC ‘Gullwing’.
The example offered here is the latter, thought to have been converted in May 1984. At this point it received substantial strengthening to its roof and sills—to accommodate the famous upswept door design—a conversion that doubled its already substantial list price of 83,000 Deutsche Mark.
This striking 500 SEC is known to have been taken to the United States by Selections Import and later registered to a Ferrari collector residing in Oakland, California.
The car was later returned to its native Germany by its consigning owner in March 2010, and has since been maintained chiefly by Mercedes-Benz specialist Autohaus Weicker GmbH. The history file shows numerous invoices dated between 2010 to 2015, with a €5,848 overhaul of the door hydraulics and a further €1,132 heater and washer system restoration standing out. With the mechanical refinement of a stock 500 SEC, plus the added slice of 1980s excess, this modern take on the Gullwing has it all.
