Signal Red, completely dechromed, matching hardtop, black soft top and custom black leather interior, 4-speed switchable auto, AMG body styling and badging, AMG lowered suspension, AMG 16" colour coded alloy wheels, ABS, cruise control, electric windows, rear seats, fire extinguisher, original Blaupunkt radio/cassette player, all tools, handbooks etc, full service history, 61,000 miles.

£16,950                                                         Click for Currency Conversion

This is one of the AMG cars converted from new at huge cost by Stratton of Wilmslow in the 1980s. It has complete dechroming, AMG front and rear spoilers and sideskirts, AMG suspension lowered by 60mm, AMG 16" alloy wheels and a custom interior all in black leather with matching deep pile carpets and black roof lining.

Prior to painting in body colour all the chrome would have been removed, acid etched, primed and painted before refitting, which explains its superb finish and extraordinary durability on a 22 year old car. The interior would have been completely stripped and retrimmed by the Stratton craftsmen to (dare we say it) a much higher standard of materials and finish than the standard Mercedes offering. On the standard interior only the seats, headrests and steering wheel are leather covered, all other items being PVC. In this case everything including seats, headrests, door panels, armrests, centre console and handbrake shroud are covered in lashings of hand crafted Connolly leather.

The car looks amazingly sleek and purposeful with the 60mm reduction in ride height, and the larger, wider wheels with low profile tyres fill the arches perfectly. The surprising thing however is that it rides almost as smoothly as a standard car, and corners as if on rails. The AMG suspension has been perfectly tuned for this model and additionally gives it a very muscular appearance.

Ron Stratton built up the largest Ferrari and Rolls Royce dealership outside London over a 20-year period, and became one of the first official AMG dealers in the UK, before that company became part of Mercedes-Benz. His customer list read like a who's who of the rich and famous, and he was responsible for hundreds of AMG conversions to Mercedes-Benz cars before selling out to Pendragon in 1991.

It was collected personally from the factory in Sindelfingen by its first owner, who was from Staffordshire, and taken straight to Strattons for the conversion work to be carried out. The first service was carried out by Strattons, and in the next year the car was serviced three times by Drayton Mercedes-Benz of Stoke-on-Trent. It then moved to Tarvin near Chester, where the servicing was undertaken by Newgate Motor Company, the Mercedes-Benz dealer for Chester. There are three stamps from Newgate at annual intervals upto 1990. In that year the car moved to Greece, where it stayed for one year and was serviced twice by Greek Mercedes dealers. Until this point the car had been regularly used and had covered around 50,000 miles. It then returned to the UK where it spent most of its time in storage. This must have been in ideal conditions as there is no noticeable deterioration. During the period 1991 to 2007 it only covered 11,000 miles but was serviced four times; once by Dodman Read Mercedes-Benz of Stockport, once by an independent Mercedes specialist and twice by non-franchised garages. We have just had it serviced by our Mercedes specialist, so it is now ready for a further 6,000 miles without scheduled attention.

The car appears to be totally as originally supplied, including the Stratton decals on front and rear windows and both original Stratton numberplates. As such it represents an important period in the history of Mercedes and AMG in the UK, and gives a fascinating insight into origin of the colour coded styling statements of current car models. This was one of a very small number of cars built to this specification, but with the passage of time we think that it may now be unique. It is an absolute head turner on the road, and the new owner can look forward to it being the centre of attention wherever classic Mercedes cars are gathered.

Mercedes Enthusiast magazine recently visited us and did a photoshoot on the car, and it will be the subject of a detailed article in a forthcoming issue. We displayed it on the Mercedes-Benz Club stand at the Tatton Park Classic Car Show and were amazed at the number of people who recognised its origins and came to tell us about their experiences with Stratton cars in the 1980s. If anybody recognises this actual car and can give us more information as to its early years we would be pleased to find out.

We have commissioned a comprehensive mechanical check of the car by our independent Mercedes specialist. Any faults found have been remedied, and any required maintenance has been carried out (see above). Invoices for this work will be supplied with the car, along with our own warranty, details of which can be supplied on request.