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Vintage Mercedes Fetches Record €135 MN at Auction

A 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut became the most expensive car ever sold after fetching 135 million euros at auction - Mercedes-Benz AG/AFP
A 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut became the most expensive car ever sold after fetching 135 million euros at auction - Mercedes-Benz AG/AFP
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Vintage Mercedes Fetches Record €135 MN at Auction

A 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut became the most expensive car ever sold after fetching 135 million euros at auction - Mercedes-Benz AG/AFP
A 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut became the most expensive car ever sold after fetching 135 million euros at auction - Mercedes-Benz AG/AFP

A 1955 Mercedes-Benz, one of only two of its kind, was auctioned off earlier this month for a whopping 135 million euros ($143 million), making it the most expensive car ever sold, RM Sotheby's announced Thursday.

The Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut was sold to a private collector, the classic car auction company said in a statement, fetching almost triple the previous record price for a car, which was set in 2018 by a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO that went for over $48 million, AFP said.

The invitation-only auction took place on May 5 at the MercedesBenz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, the auction house said, adding that the vehicle's high price places it in the "top 10 most valuable items ever sold at auction in any collecting category".

According to an AFP ranking of artworks sold at auction in recent years, the 300 SLR ranks sixth or seventh, with the all-time record being held by Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi", which sold in November 2017 for $450.3 million.

Next is "Shot Sage Blue Marilyn" by Andy Warhol, which also sold this month for $195 million.

The car is one of just two prototypes built by the Mercedes-Benz racing department and is named after its creator and chief engineer, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, according to RM Sotheby's.

"The private buyer has agreed that the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe will remain accessible for public display on special occasions, while the second original 300 SLR Coupe remains in company ownership and will continue to be displayed at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart," the auction company added.

According to RM Sotheby's and press reports, the 300 SLR, recognizable by its unusual lines and butterfly doors, was modelled on the W196 R Grand Prix race car, which won two Formula 1 world championships in 1954 and 1955 with Italian Juan Manuel Fangio in the driver's seat.

But in June 1955, tragedy struck the Mercedes-Benz team, when at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, a crash of one of its 300 SLR vehicles killed French driver Pierre Levegh and 83 spectators.

That tragedy -- the deadliest in the history of motor racing -- forced the company to withdraw from the sport for years.

RM Sotheby's said the proceeds from the auction will be used to establish a worldwide Mercedes-Benz Fund that will fund environmental science and decarbonization research.

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Should You Stretch before Exercise? After? Never? Here’s What to Know

Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
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Should You Stretch before Exercise? After? Never? Here’s What to Know

Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)

For many people of a certain age, high school gym class began with reaching for their toes. Then, over the years, we were told it was better to stretch after exercise.

It turns out, both those things can be true, but the differing advice has created some confusion.

Stretching can help make you more flexible, improve range of motion in your joints — and feel good. David Behm, who researches human kinetics at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, Canada, offers this advice on when to stretch and how to do it safely:

Warm up first

It’s almost always good to stretch, but it’s better if you warm up first, said Behm, author of "The Science and Physiology of Flexibility and Stretching." He recommends a light aerobic activity such as jogging, walking or cycling for five or 10 minutes.

Follow that with some static stretching, the traditional way of reaching and holding a position (think back to that gym class). You can then do activity-specific dynamic stretching, in which you warm up the muscles with repetitive movements like leg lifts.

Behm says one minute is "the magic number" for how long to do static stretching per muscle group without fatigue.

Expand your definition of 'stretching'

Should you always stretch before exercising? If it's traditional stretching, not necessarily.

The better question, Behm says, is, "Should people increase their range of motion? Should people have better flexibility? And that is yes, because it helps prevent injuries. It helps with health. But you don’t have to stretch to achieve that."

Resistance training, for instance, can be an effective form of stretching, he said. Doing a chest press increases range of motion in your deltoids and pecs, whether with barbells, dumbbells or machines, so there is no need to stretch beforehand. Just make sure to start with a small amount of weight to warm up and then add more to train.

"You probably don’t have to do extra stretching unless you’re a gymnast, a figure skater, or even a golfer who needs a great range of motion through that swing," Behm said.

Nor do you need to stretch first if you’re going for a leisurely run. Simply start with a slow jog to warm up and then increase the pace.

Don't do it if it hurts

After exercise, "light stretching is OK, as long as you don't reach a point where you're feeling pain," Behm said. Since your muscles will be warm by that point, overdoing it makes you more likely to injure yourself.

Foam rollers can help with muscle recovery and have been shown to increase range of motion as well as stretching.

Do some static stretching before sports

If you’re playing a sport, Behm said, static stretching beforehand helps reduce muscle and tendon injury.

"If you’re going to do an explosive movement, change of direction, agility, sprint, any of these explosive activities that involve your muscles and tendons," he said, "you’re going to be stronger if you do static stretching."

People can especially get in trouble when they go back to a sport they used to play, whether it's tennis, surfing or any sort of team activity.

Also, stretch both sides equally. Lacking flexibility on one side also can lead to injury.

Sounds simple. Why all the confusion? Different studies over the years have either encouraged or discouraged stretching before exercise. Behm says that partly because some studies didn't reflect real-life conditions, or were designed with elite athletes in mind, not regular people.

"If you’re Usain Bolt, it makes a difference," said Behm. Not so much for the rest of us.