Stuttgart/Brackley – The MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team can confirm that seven-times Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher will make his racing return in 2010 with the Silver Arrows team. With seven Drivers’ World Championships, 248 Grand Prix starts, 91 victories, 154 podium finishes and 68 pole positions, the 40-year old German needs no introduction following an illustrious and record-breaking Formula One career from 1991 to 2006 at the Jordan, Benetton and Ferrari teams. Michael’s return to racing with MERCEDES GP PETRONAS sees his return to Mercedes-Benz Motorsport where he began his racing apprenticeship as part of the Junior Programme in 1990, racing in Group C sports cars and DTM, and sees Michael renew his partnership with Ross Brawn with whom he won all seven of his World Championships. The announcement confirms the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS driver line-up for the 2010 season with Michael partnering his compatriot, 24 year old Nico Rosberg, in the Silver Arrows cars.

Michael Schumacher: “MERCEDES GP PETRONAS represents a new challenge for me both in a sporting and a personal context. It is a new chapter in my racing career and I am really looking forward to working with my old friend Ross Brawn and my companions from my days with the Mercedes Junior Programme. I am convinced that together we will be involved in the fight for the Formula 1 World Championship next year and I am already looking forward to getting back onto the race track. For me, this partnership closes the circle. Mercedes supported me for so many years when I began my Formula 1 career and now I can hopefully give something back to the brand with the star.”

Nico Rosberg: “It is fantastic that Michael is returning to Formula One and will be my team-mate at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS. It’s a great challenge for me to be up against one of the best drivers of all time. I’m sure that we will form a very strong partnership as he will have lost none of his speed! It is also great news for our sport and the fans.”

Ross Brawn: Team Principal of MERCEDES GP PETRONAS: “I am delighted that we can confirm today that Michael will make his much-anticipated return to Formula One next year and drive for our MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team. As seven-time World Champion, Michael’s outstanding record in Formula One speaks for itself and I am looking forward to working with him again. With the completion of our driver line-up, I believe that we now have the most exciting partnership in Formula One with Michael and Nico, who provide the perfect mix of talent, experience, speed and youth. We can now turn our full attention to the preparations for the new season and everyone at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS is extremely excited about the challenge ahead. With the investment and support in our team provided by Daimler, Aabar and our new title partner Petronas, and with two such exciting drivers, we have all of the building blocks in place to have another successful season in 2010.”

Norbert Haug: Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsports: “In April 1991, when I had been in charge of the Mercedes-Benz Motorsport programme for just six months, Michael was standing beside me on the balcony one evening. Without the slightest doubt, he said in a low voice: “It’s about time that I got into Formula 1″. Michael had just turned 22 years of age and four months later, he made his debut at Spa in a Jordan. Mercedes-Benz helped him to this point and the rest is history: seven World Championship titles, more than any racing driver, 91 Grand Prix wins, more than any racing driver. Michael has more of everything than every other driver. As part of the Mercedes Junior Programme, Michael had raced in Group C sports cars and competed in a few DTM races. Ross Brawn, then our opponent at Jaguar, quickly realised Michael’s talent and they went on to win all seven of his Drivers’ World Championship titles together at Benetton and Ferrari. Our sporting ambition has always been that Michael should drive again where his professional career had started and Michael knew that. We often joked about it after the races and discussed the prospect seriously several times during the last 14 years in Formula 1. It didn‟t happen in 1995, it didn’t happen in 1998 and it didn’t happen in 2005. I am delighted that it will now happen in 2010. I am very much looking forward to working with Michael and everybody at Mercedes-Benz and Daimler extends a very warm welcome to our ‘apprentice’ of 19 years ago. That apprentice is now the most successful racing driver of all time.”

Below you’ll find videos mentioned in the SL Market Letter (094):

The 1886 Benz was the first car. Lance Lambert from The Vintage Vehicle Show visits the Mercedes Classics Museum to see, learn about, and drive this vehicle.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Patent Motor Car 1 Cylinder Bore 91.44mm Stroke 150 Displacement 984 cc Benz Patent Motorwagen 1886. The world’s first true automobile. Benz Velo 1894. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

Bertha Benz hat am 5. August 1888 mit Ihrer geheimen Fahrt über 106 Kilometer von Mannheim nach Pforzheim den Benz-Patent-Motorwagen zum Erfolg verholfen und Automobilgeschichte geschrieben.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Len Asks:

I have a 1986 300SL 5-speed manual. I love the car very much but note that outside of a Website in Germany, I almost never see manual gearbox R107 300SL’s offered for sale. Could you tell me, of the 13,000-odd R107’s that were produced in total from 1985 through 1989, how many were fitted with manual gearboxes?
Thank you.

John Olson Replies:

No, Mercedes-Benz has never released production quantities for specific options. There was a great deal of interest in learning how many 5-speed manual shift Pagoda SLs were built in the 1960s. It was thanks to the supplier of those transmissions, a German company ZF Friedrichshafen AG, that old records showed how many were delivered and for specific M-B models. Total was only 888!

About ten year ago, MBUSA was able to tell an owner how many 5 speed manual transmissions were delivered in the USA in the R129 SL. but that was only possible because the number was small and limited to one country.

Your six cylinder W107 SL was never sold through US M-B dealers as you know. Your enthusiasm for this model is common. Treat it like a permanent asset at it will become one. There are many good things about M-B sixes generally. They don’t break much, are less expensive to repair that newer V8 SLs, and are among the safer “old” cars when accidents occur. The R107 SL version debuted in 1974 as a 280SL, and received the 3.0 liter engine in 1985 when the 300E was launched in the USA. Engine parts are mostly interchangeable with the 300E models including the transmission, and body parts are interchangeable with the 560SL.

Kevin Stanley asks:

I have a 1985 380Sl;  full load, heated seats, ac, hard top, etc.  I am the second owner and the car is all original with 92,000 km’s. It is teal with natural leather; 8 out of 10 condition. How can I determine the value today? Are they going up or down in value?
Thanks in advance, Kevin

John Olson replies:

All cars, even the greatest collector cars, depreciate painfully during their first decade (or two) of life… providing inadequate differentiation for rough treatment vs. careful preservation. Your mid-1980s car is currently in what I call its “limbo” years, when it is neither a newer car or old enough to be taken seriously as a collector car. The “hot” decade of appreciating older cars now is the 1960s — interesting models of all brands, especially convertibles (the safest bet to appreciate in all marques). Cars of the 1970s are just starting to be “cherry-picked” for the best preserved originals at low prices. Your decade is coming but in the meantime it is under-valued by the marketplace as compared to what it would cost to reincarnate a tired example to the condition of your car.

The only good news is that your car’s value has reached it’s “plateau” value range for the remainder of its time in “limbo”. That’s a plus for a buyer, or for you if you should decide you’re better off keeping it and enjoying it. Granted it doesn’t get the MPG we like to see today but you will lose more in annual depreciate on most newer cars that you spend annually in extra gas in any 1980s SL, plus you’re likely to be safer in a bad accident in an old Mercedes that many newer cars. Things to think about.

So, no, your 380SL should not go down further in value next year or even 10 years, than you can get this year, assuming proper care, no driving in salty seasons, etc. Finding it’s precise value would require a professional appraisal but the range is likely to be $6,000 to $12,000 –wholesale to retail, in my USA market. You didn’t mention your country of residence. Relatively speaking, what I’ve said here applies anywhere in the world.

Many of the SL Mercedes-Benz questions are answered in our SL Market Letter, published about 12 times per year. For a nominal subscription fee, you can have SL Mercedes price trends and exclusive SL articles written by author, John R. Olson – publisher of the SL Experience book. You can subscribe to the  SL Market Letter here.

Offered by John Olson, Inc., a 1957 300SL Ro (Mercedes-Benz Roadster) is being auctioned by telephone bid sale. Additional information is available to qualified buyers (details below).

Telephone Bid Sale Details – How it works (click here).

One of the world’s most desirable and ageless Classics. This example began life in Austria, was raced in California during the 1960s, and graduated to accumulating show trophies and rally participation with its present owner of 36 years.  John Olson personally guarantees all bids are real. Meet the owner and inspect the car just as any private sale. Car is located near Denver, Colorado. Call us at 612-377-0155 or via email here.

Phil asks:

I have a 1981 500SLC I would like to put a 5-speed (manual) trans in the car ….any suggestions.

John Olson replies:

My suggestions? Forget about it! The improvement would be minimal for a whole lota’ cost and monkey business. Gertrag made (may still make) a strong five speed manual box that AMG offered during the 1980s… priced at $14,000 then! I still have their little price book that listed about 50 options with prices…  that being one. The “cheapest way to do it would be buy a1983 – 1986 Euro 500SL with one of these manual five speeds as a donor car, swap out what you want and sell the donor.

On the down side, you will dilute the long term appreciation of a rare car; substancial if it is a nice car. I consider the 500SLC to be the most significant collectible Mercedes-Benz of that decade… the decade of the 1970s… even though your car is an ‘81. You already have the four speed automatic, which in itself enhances that car’s value.

I have done transmission and gear-ratio and rear axle ratio transplants on a number of cars for racing & rally purposes, and assure you the benefits gear changes are elusive and application specific. Every choice is a compromise. Street or track use, under or over 100 miles per hour driving, stock weight or lightened? The 500SLC, as one of the few homologated rally race cars Mercedes-Benz ever sold to the public, is a very hard car to improve upon. Only 2,769 were built and less have been found 50 in the USA. It is the lowest series production car built by Mercedes- Benz in that decade. My suggestion: keep it original.

Many of the SL Mercedes-Benz questions are answered in our SL Market Letter, published about 12 times per year. For a nominal subscription fee, you can have SL Mercedes price trends and exclusive SL articles written by author, John R. Olson – publisher of the SL Experience book. You can subscribe to the  SL Market Letter here.

Question: Sportscar Market Magazine’s 2008 Price Guide is putting 300SL Roadster values higher then the Mercedes-Benz Gullwings. Can this be true?

Olson Replies: The SL Market Letter has been charting this relationship since these models were new. The 300SL “Gullwing” Coupe is one the few great cars where a closed body-type has commanded higher prices than its convertible counterpart. This has prompted decades of prognostication that Roadsters would eventually eclipse Gullwings. Besides, 300SL Roadsters do contain more parts than Gullwings…. full restorations can involve 20% more labor on parts to be rescued or replaced. Roadster reupholstering takes five hides of leather. Even when new, Roadsters cost 25% more. And enthusiasts know that Roadsters had dozens of refinements. All reasons for them to be higher priced today. The following chart shows that after recovering from a low of 56%, Roadsters took 17 years to claw their way to 85% of Gullwings (using averaged prices). During the last ten years they have more-or-less hit a plateau between 80% and 85% of Gullwing values.

The 2007 auction scene has seen several surprises. Not only several 300SL Roadster sales passed $700,000, but they were early production, iron block cars, not late, alloy engine, disc brake models. At the same time there have been fewer spectacular Gullwing sales. If we go solely by these high-profile Roadster sales, sure, we could say, heads up… something special MAY BE happened. As a 300SL Roadster owner myself I should be delighted but I have to say the evidence is thin. I know a lot of these owners. The reason we’ve seen less Gullwing sales: less owners are sellin’! They’re sitting on their hands! Those willing to sell are very coy/reluctant about putting prices in their ads. We’re preparing our next 300SL Price Trends report for the SL Market Letter now, for late February or March release.

Model            300SL              300SL           Ratio
Year              Coupé              Roadster     Rdstr to Cpe

Roy Spencer has posted a summary of the Mercedes SL scene, as of 2008, that’s so good I might have written it myself! “An SL for any Size Billfold” might be another name for this four-part article covering four decades of SLs. Whether you’re curious about adding another decade to your SL collection or still seek your first, take a gander at these four articles:

• View SL Market Analysis Part 1 – 1950s and 1960s
• View SL Market Analysis Part 2 – 1960s and 1970s
• View SL Market Analysis Part 3 – 1980s
• View SL Market Analysis Part 4 – 1980s

A few cautions about prices: While 1950s and 1960s SLs now sell for many times their original price and are still climbing, two things temper newer decades… 1) the role of attrition and 2) quanities built (which are growing with each decade). If your goal is simply a great, fun car, any decade will work. If your agenda includes an appreciating asset, maybe a hobby that pays for itself… try repeating ”Buy the oldest SL I’m brave enough to buy” about a dozen times. Or, if you’re into “Buy Low, Sell high” — that bridge is now at approximately 1972. The decade of the 1970s has some terrific bargains… unrestored original cars that will never need to be restored if you become their faithful custodian as they move into their golden years. If you’ve got more bucks than years left – go for the gold now! But read Roy’s series first. AND include the SL Market Letters in your shopping; our subscription based newsletter covers price trends and includes a comprehensive classified listings for the Mercedes-Benz SL.