You could own this bonkers V8 Mercedes SL Trans Am racer

We like old race cars here at TG, especially old race cars that are kept alive and still run. And when they look like this, well that’s just the icing on the cake.

What you see above is the DeAtley Motorsport/Michelob Mercedes-Benz 450 SL that competed in the Trans Am Series in 1982 with Loren St. Lawrence at the wheel. It’s got to be one of the greatest looking silhouette racers ever, with its widebody fibreglass SL panels draped over a tubular frame chassis. Owner Neat DeAtley ran a Merc dealership in Idaho at the time – hence the R107 look.

The engine was originally a 5.0-litre V8 unit, but it was destroked to 4.5-litres to meet Trans Am regs. It’s connected to a five-speed manual gearbox and the whole car has recently been serviced.

Oh yeah, and it’s for sale at the Mecum Auctions Kissimmee sale in early January. Buy it and you’ll even get a spare cast iron block and aluminium heads, as well as extra body panels and a load of engine internals. You’ll have to fight us for it, though, of course…

Photos: Mecum Auctions