LONDON.- RM Sotheby’s will return to its traditional home at the Louvre Palace’s spectacular Salles du Carrousel on 28 January 2026 for the 13th running of Europe’s premier collector car auction in Paris. Following this year’s incredible auction that saw the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning 1964 Ferrari 250 LM sell for €34,880,000 in the City of Lights, next year’s sale is already shaping up to be one to remember with the early consignment of The Silver Star Collection, a six-strong group of some of the German marque’s most iconic machines. Leading the Collection is a pair of Mercedes-Benz 300 SLs that represent both the very earliest and dying days of production.

Only 167 examples of Mercedes-Benz’s groundbreaking super coupé were built in the first year of production, among them this 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing (Est: €1,250,000 - €1,750,000). Like many, this car was first bound for New York and arrived on US shores finished in White Grey with a green-beige chequered fabric interior. It later returned to Germany and was restored in 2016, re-finished in the ever-popular combination of silver over red with two pieces of fitted luggage trimmed in complementary red leather.

Meanwhile, a 1962 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster (Est: €1,200,000 - €1,500,000) is among the final few hundred examples to leave the Sindelfingen works. One of only 182 Roadsters built in 1962, the car was delivered to England at the start of the year finished in the Fire Engine Red over Cream combination that it retains today. Beautifully presented following an exacting restoration at the hands of Mercedes-Benz Classic from 2015-2016, the matching-numbers example comes complete with a Mercedes-Benz Classic restoration book and a copy of its factory data card.

The two landmark models are followed by a pair of gullwing icons of a younger generation, the AMG-tuned, 563-horsepower SLS—also presented in matching open and closed configuration. A 2013 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupé (Est: €240,000 - €290,000) finished in Iridium Silver over a Black and Anthracite Exclusive leather interior is the model in its purest form. This example is well equipped, with an AMG performance steering wheel, rearview camera, and memory seats, and has covered just over 6,000 kilometres in the care of its two owners.

Offering comparable performance in open-top guise is a 2013 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster (Est: €210,000 - €260,000). This time finished in Obsidian Black over Black and Anthracite leather, the Roadster also benefits from an AMG steering wheel, plus carbon ceramic brakes, AMG forged wheels, and an Airscarf system. Like the Coupé, it has covered just over 6,000 kilometres and has had only two owners from new.

The neatly curated six-car collection is rounded out with two more of the Three-Pointed Star’s most memorable models. A one-of-520 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster (Est: €375,000 - €475,000) presents beautifully in Crystal Laurit Silver Metallic over Black and Anthracite leather with 19-inch turbine wheels. Specified with extra-large seats, the German-delivered example too has covered a whisker over 6,000 kilometres from new and boasts just two names in its logbook.

Finally, a 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280 SL ‘Pagoda’ (Est: €120,000 - €140,000) offers both accessible glamour and timeless style. Restored between 2014 and 2016 in its factory-correct Grey Blue Metallic over Blue leather and to European specifications (it was first delivered to the United States), the elegant convertible pairs a matching-numbers 2.8-litre straight-six with a four-speed automatic gearbox and comes complete with a colour-matched hardtop.