Cars for Stars News

More than 30 years after her death, Hollywood icon Natalie Wood’s vintage Mercedes Roadster will be up for auction in July this year. Auctioneer Profiles in History announced on Monday that Wood’s white 1967 Mercedes 250SL Roadster Coupe automatic will be a part of their July Hollywood memorabilia mega auction.

The Mercedes, purchased new in 1967 in Santa Monica, California, is upholstered in black vinyl and has been restored to near perfect condition. It comes with a certification card, has 106,000 miles on the clock, and is expected to fetch between US $30,000 – $50,000.

This famed 250SL, one of the most popular cars that Mercedes-Benz have ever built, boasts some fantastic features.   ZF four-speed automatic transmission with floor shift, power steering, air conditioning, removable hardtop and a hidden soft top, the car also comes with copies of Natalie Wood’s 1968 California Registration and window sticker. This particular Mercedes is quite ahead of its times, with four-wheel disc brakes, all-independent suspension, a 2.5-liter sohc, mechanically fuel injected, and a six-cylinder engine. The250SL is one of the rarest of the W113-bodied cars, having been built only in 1967 and 1968.

Wood is best known for her playing memorable roles in Hollywood classics such as West Side Story, Miracle on 34th Street and Rebel Without A Cause. She died at the age of 43 when she drowned off the California coast in 1981. Her death, which was initially ruled as accidental drowning, was investigated again with her case being reopened in November 2011. At the time, Los Angeles police is believed to have received new leads when the captain of the yacht that the actress was travelling on confessed that he had lied to authorities in 1981.

In spite of all this, no charges have been brought against anyone.