Do you have $850,000 to spare? It could be the winning bid for a most exclusive Mercedes-Benz seized by police from controversial tech billionaire Kim Dotcom.
Dotcom’s 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM AMG Cabriolet was seized during a raid of his Coatesville mansion in 2012, and it is going under the hammer at Webb’s auction house in Auckland this Sunday.
Webb’s said Mercedes-Benz only made 80 convertible and 100 coupe options in this model. The auction house said it was even rarer than the SLR McLaren and SLS AMG Black Series.
A 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM AMG Cabriolet owned by Kim Dotcom (inset) is being auctioned at Webb's in Auckland on Sunday.
And this Benz, capable of accelerating from 0-100km/h in 3.9 seconds, has only been driven 8674km.
Viewings begin at Webb’s auction house in Mt Eden tomorrow.
For those with more refined tastes, Queen Elizabeth II’s 1963 Rolls-Royce Phantom V is also featured in the Collectors’ Cars, Motorcycles & Automobilia live auction. Custom-made at the Queen’s request, this Rolls-Royce carried the monarch around New Zealand during her royal tours in 1963 and 1970.
But the star of the show is certainly Dotcom’s old Merc. Webb’s head of marketing and collectors’ cars Coalan McAleer told the Herald it was attracting attention from international buyers.
“This is one of the most exciting cars to come on the New Zealand secondary market in recent years. This exceptionally rare car is a standout on the market,” McAleer said.
It has a 5.4-litre V8 engine, which delivers 582bhp and a top speed of 322km/h.
It was designed and built by the German company HWA AG, which makes Mercedes-AMG components and vehicles, to commemorate Mercedes-Benz’s victory in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) Championship in 2003.
Dotcom’s car, a left-hand-drive vehicle, was delivered new in Germany in 2006 and was imported to New Zealand in 2011. And it was only one of three CLK DTM AMGs Dotcom had in his extensive car collection.
A 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM AMG Cabriolet once owned by Kim Dotcom is being auctioned at Webb's in Auckland on Sunday. Photo / Webb's
“Dotcom’s collection has included some of the most coveted high-performance vehicles in the world, reflecting his love for speed and engineering excellence. His penchant for rare and exotic automobiles has seen him amass a fleet that includes everything from supercars to custom-built machines,” Webb’s said.
“This specific Mercedes is an exceptionally rare vehicle - one of only 80 ever produced. This stunning example, finished in Iridium Silver Metallic with a black leather interior and detailed with carbon fibre panels, is estimated to fetch between $650,000 and $850,000.”
Webb’s said the Merc had been “meticulously” maintained, dry stored and serviced by local marque experts. It was running on its original tyres and its electric roof functioning well, Webb’s said.
The interior of Kim Dotcom's old 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM AMG Cabriolet, boasting a 5.4-litre V8 engine, which delivers 582bhp and a top speed of 322km/h. Photo / Webb's
Since Dotcom was arrested on January 20, 2012, the German citizen-turned-New Zealand resident has done everything he possibly can to resist being extradited to the US on copyright-related claims that have been extrapolated into charges of mass fraud and organised crime under the mantle of Megaupload, a now-defunct file hosting service.
He first rose to fame in Germany in the 1990s as an Internet entrepreneur and was convicted on charges of computer fraud in 1994.
On November 4, 2020, the Supreme Court of New Zealand ruled that Dotcom could be extradited to the United States to face 12 criminal copyright-related charges.
