British title, EU customs clearance

Chassis no. 1800308510470 Engine no. 1809248507740

- Restored like new by Kienle in 1995

- Owned by a Mrs. Woodward in New York City for 30 years

- Rare and sought-after model

 

This car is set apart by its history, known since it was new, low ownership and remarkable restored condition. Its story began on 25 July 1958, when Mary T. Woodward, who lived in New York, took delivery of the car directly from Mercedes at Sindelfingen. She took the opportunity to travel to France and even had the car serviced there, as can be seen from the stamps in the service book from Cannes and Antibes. After visiting Brussels for the World Fair, Mrs. Woodward had her Mercedes shipped to New York, where it was registered, before receiving a new number when it arrived at Palm Beach in Florida, where its owner subsequently moved. All the original customs documents are in the car’s history file.

She most likely stopped using the car in the 1980s, and in the summer of 1993, the car was spotted in a garage at Palm Beach by Peter Tigges. Under a layer of dust, it appeared to be well preserved and, in any event, completely original. Tigges fell for the car, bought it and had it sent to Kienle Automobiltechnik in Germany, one of the top Mercedes specialists. Shipped by container from the US in September 1993, the 220 S Convertible left the Kienle workshops nearly two years later and, on 26 July 1995, completely restored, it returned to Palm Beach. Tigges’ total outlay for this magnificent restoration was approximately 250,000 $. For all that, he only used the Mercedes sparingly until 9 March 2018, the date of the auction at which it was purchased by Classic & Art Invest, a company based in Liechtenstein. It then returned to Kienle to be put on sale; since its restoration, it had covered only 6650 miles (10,700km)!

On 6 February 2019, it was bought by the company Vanderbilt Holding Ltd. from Newport (Rhode Island), represented by its main shareholder, the multi-millionaire businessman Peter de Savary. In February 2022, he sent it to the UK, where it was registered on 1 October that year. Just one month later, de Savary suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 78. The Mercedes was sold at auction as part of his estate and bought by its current owner, who has since scarcely used it.

 

This 220 S Convertible, with its unusual history, will be supplied to its next owner with a very comprehensive file including its original manuals and various bills. It is in extremely impressive condition and the restoration work carried out by Kienle on this very well built model has stood the test of time remarkably well. It is magnificently finished, with its dark blue paintwork, immaculate red leather upholstery, wooden door cappings and dashboard (complete with a Becker Europa radio) and beige hood. The Mercedes 220 S was – and still is – a very luxurious car, with the added benefit of a 2.2-litre six-cylinder engine and performance which allows it to keep up easily with modern traffic. It offers the promise of pleasures to come at its wheel, with family or friends, for enjoyable excursions or at high-quality historic events.

Photos © Sian Loyson