Fake or Fortune? German police investigate counterfeit Mercedes 300 SLs

In a twist on time-honoured stories of Bugattis cloned in Argentina or Jaguar D-types sharing not only the same racing grid but the same chassis number, the Landeskriminalamt – State Criminal Police Office – of Baden-Württemberg in Germany is investigating allegations of counterfeit 300 SLs made against a famous classic car restorer.
 
The company in question is Kienle, one of the best-known names in the 300 SL world. Reacting to the charges in a press release dated 2 June 2023, founder Klaus Kienle stated that all allegations of fraud against him and his company are unfounded and promised a counterclaim.
 
The case revolves around the emergence after many decades of single ownership of an unrestored 300 SL Roadster bearing the same identity as a restored car sold in 2019 by Kienle. Matters came to light when the buyer of the recently unearthed 1961 300 SL Roadster, painted Fantasiegelb for the ‘61 Geneva Motor Show but soon repainted red by its next long-term owner, tried to register his purchase in Germany, only to find a restored yellow car with the same identity already existed.  
 
The German authorities went on to state that “a company from Ditzingen [Kienle is based in Heimerdingen, a village close to Ditzingen] was engaged in a fraudulent trade in exclusive vintage cars”.
 
The Kienle press release rebuts this: “At the present time, it is not even clear which of the two vehicles is the original and which is a reconstruction. The first step is to carry out investigations in order to establish the origins of the two vehicles.” A 300 SL expert told K500, “The problem so far has been getting the owners of both vehicles on board when there is a double identity, because both always have something to lose.”

Kienle claims it brokered the 300 SL Roadster at the centre of the controversy in good faith and was not asked to examine or vouch for its authenticity.

Whichever car is a ‘fake’, it’s the first time the potential existence of entirely counterfeit 300 SLs has made it into the open. Last year, a major auction house pulled a rare alloy-bodied ‘Gullwing’ from a top-level sale without explanation. Replacement body panels are commonplace in restored alloy cars, and would not warrant more than a sale room announcement if not previously disclosed.

The convenience of firms in Eastern Europe with the skills to make the chassis, Italian artisan coachbuilders for the bodies and widespread availability in Germany of suitable mechanical components makes cloning 300 SLs at today’s healthy values profitable. Basing such a car on a ‘lost’ original with desirable features is an obvious money-making move.
 
What has shaken the 300 SL market is that whoever is responsible for these actions is perpetrating them on $1.5m-$2m cars – not the usual $5m+ Ferrari sports-racers or Alfa Romeo 8Cs. Mercedes 300 SL buyers naturally look at condition, specification (“are those Rudge wheels factory fitted?”) and matching numbers, but not the possibility of a duplicate on the other side of the globe. Or, in this case, the same country.

We’re accustomed to the aforementioned stories of Jaguar D-types and Ford GT40s with shared chassis numbers, especially after racing accidents, Alfa 8Cs which have literally been through the wars and, more recently, Porsche Carrera RSs miraculously born out of humbler 911 bodyshells. With those cars, buyers are primed and know what to check. Now a whole new front opens up for 300 SLs: clear provenance will be gold dust, and the experts are likely to be very busy sifting through it.

Postscript:

The joint press release in German by the public prosecutor's office in Stuttgart and the LKA BW – criticised by Kienle for including “fundamental errors and inconsistencies” – ‘Suspicion of commercial fraud with the sale of counterfeit vintage cars’ – Gemeinsame Pressemitteilung der Staatsanwaltschaft Stuttgart und des LKA BW - Verdacht des gewerbsmäßigen Betrugs mit dem Verkauf von gefälschten Oldtimern – can be read in full HERE.

Photos by Daimler-Benz