This Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, Once the Subject of an Andy Warhol Portrait, Is Headed to Auction

• This 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing was the subject of a commissioned artwork by Andy Warhol.
• The exact car depicted in Warhol's piece was recently found and restored by Brabus.
• The car is now being auctioned by RM Sotheby's through Thursday, November 17.

Andy Warhol's final commission was, bizarrely, for Mercedes-Benz. The famous pop artist was hired to create a series of portraits of Mercedes-Benz cars, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the company's founding. Originally intended as 80 portraits of 20 cars from Mercedes's century-long heritage, Warhol only completed 49 of these pieces before he died in 1987.

The first of these portraits—the prototype as it were—was of a Mercedes-Benz 300SL. After being lost for decades, the actual car in the Warhol painting was recently discovered, and refurbished, by Brabus Germany, a noted restorer (and questionable customizer) of Mercedes vehicles. It is currently up for auction by RM Sotheby's in New York City.

Intriguingly, neither Warhol nor Mercedes initiated the portrait project. It was the brainchild of Hans Mayer, Warhol's German dealer. Recognizing the milestone of Benz's centenary, Mayer personally commissioned two Benz paintings from Andy, with the hope of selling-in the concept to the Mercedes brass. Thinking that the iconic Gullwing would make the most convincing template, he insisted that this be the subject. But since these were already 30-year-old collectible classics at the time, a car wasn't handy. Knowing Warhol's affection for appropriation, Mayer found a solution.