![This Mercedes-Simplex 60hp vintage car will cross the block at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance 2024 Classic & Sports Car – 121-year-old Mercedes-Simplex 60hp makes market debut](/sites/default/files/styles/article/public/2024-01/Classic-%26-Sports-Car-Mercedes-Simplex-60hp-for-sale-01.png?itok=wtSiNoHb)
A 1903 Mercedes-Simplex 60hp that has been owned by the same family since it was new is set to go under the hammer for the first time.
The 121-year-old vehicle will be sold at Gooding & Company’s Amelia Island Auction, which takes place on 29 February and 1 March, although lots can be viewed from 28 February.
And if its $10m-plus estimate is anything to go by, this could be the most expensive pre-1930 car ever sold at auction.
![The 1903 Mercedes-Simplex 60hp vintage car was restored in the 1950s Classic & Sports Car – 121-year-old Mercedes-Simplex 60hp makes market debut](/sites/default/files/2024-01/Classic-%26-Sports-Car-Mercedes-Simplex-60hp-for-sale-04_0.png)
The 1903 Mercedes-Simplex 60hp’s seats retain much of their original leather
The car was bought new by Daily Mail founder Alfred Harmsworth, also known as Viscount Northcliffe.
Delivered new to Nice, France, in April 1903, its early days were spent touring Britain and Europe, in-between some motorsport outings.
Shortly after Harmsworth took delivery of this Mercedes-Simplex 60hp, German racing driver Hermann Braun piloted it to a new speed record.
![The Mercedes-Simplex 60hp vintage car viewed from the front Classic & Sports Car – 121-year-old Mercedes-Simplex 60hp makes market debut](/sites/default/files/2024-01/Classic-%26-Sports-Car-Mercedes-Simplex-60hp-for-sale-02.png)
Jim Clark and Stirling Moss have driven this Mercedes-Simplex 60hp on the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run