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 Deutsch 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.