For sale: two of the Fifties' finest sports cars. The price? £3.6m

We’ll forgive you a moment if you just want to take in the majesty of the two pictures above. Just gorgeous, aren’t they? Proof positive, if you needed it, that the Sixties doesn't have the monopoly on decades of automotive coolness.

Ladies and gentlemen, for your delectation then: a pair of 1955 supercars that are both coming up for auction next year, both of which possess sub-zero levels of desirability.

The first – and the headline act of RM Sotheby’s early February auction in Paris – is a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder. The 550, don’t forget, was originally inspired by the 356 and built to go racing. It ended up becoming one of Stuttgart’s finest-ever sports cars which boasted proper racing pedigree. James Dean used to own one, calling his ‘little b****rd’. Gary Oldman’s got one too.

This particular model is chassis number 550-0068, and is the very car Porsche displayed at the 1955 Frankfurt Motor Show. It then went on to an ‘illustrious competition career’ and with success on the US motorsport scene through the late Fifties.

The price? It’s estimated to sell for up to £2.5m (€3.6m).

Next up is a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing. Regular readers of TopGear.com will no doubt be fully versed in the SL’s history: following the success of the 300 SL racing car in the early Fifties, Merc’s North American dealer told Benz bosses that a road-going version was needed.

Merc agreed, and the Gullwing was the result. It was arguably the world’s first supercar, the SL boasting the highest top speed of any production car at the time, and a daft set of doors to match. This particular car on offer – chassis no 5500272 – has been completely restored and boasts a rare white paintjob.

The price? This one is estimated to sell for up to £1.1m (€1.6m).

Like we say, we’ll forgive you a moment if you want to just look at the pictures. If – just imagine – you had the cash, which would you plump for?

Image credits: RM Sotheby's and Porsche Archive