Bono’s wild Mercedes-Benz is for sale

A Beautiful Day?

As you well know, classic car auctions are often pretty good at throwing up cars formerly owned by celebrities, and here’s another.

This 1980 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL’s first owner was U2 frontman Bono, which is pretty near the top as far as global rockstar royalty goes.

But that doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily need megabucks to call it your own. In fact, it is estimated that it will sell for around £15,000. Let’s find out more…

A Celebration

Known to his parents as Paul David Hewson and to the rest of the world as Bono, the Dublin-born singer-songwriter bought this Mercedes to celebrate the success of U2’s debut album.

Called Boy, it was released in October 1980.

Top class transport

The car in question is a late-model 116-series S-Class. Just more than 59,500 examples of the model were built between 1973 and 1980.

Power comes courtesy of the M117 single-overhead camshaft 4520cc V8 and all were fitted with a three-speed automatic gearbox. That meant 0-62mph in 9.9 secs with a 130mph top speed.

Bovine bling

Now we said this Mercedes was wild, and here’s why…

Apologies if your eyes are protesting. Quite sudden, isn’t it? It is not clear when the interior was retrimmed in this cow-hide pattern, which covers the seats, headrests, door cards and parcel shelf, and, rather like the rest of the car, it does show its age in places.

In need of some love

We will let your eyes recover for a moment or two…

It’s not just inside that this big Mercedes could do with some care and attention. The vendor describes the chrome to be ‘in fair secondhand condition’, there is some apparently minor corrosion and also some lacquer damage to the paint.

At least any prospective bidder will go in with his or her eyes wide open.

Three-pointed star attraction

But then not every Mercedes-Benz was first owned by Bono and for some, that’s enough.

That they can perhaps add value over the period of their custodianship by bringing the car back to best can be another attraction, too.

An arresting choice

That customised interior is a lot to get used to, though, of that there is no doubt.

Whether this was Bono’s choice or the work of a later owner is not clear, but it does have a certain ‘rock-star’ vibe, don’t you think?

Weighty additions

Bono most definitely did, as you might expect, upgrade this Mercedes’ audio system.

In fact the sound system, speakers and amps set him back a whopping £12,000.

His master’s voice

Not that we imagine money was an issue, but all that extra weight can’t help the car’s acceleration.

At least the speakers help break up the eyeball-singeing fabric of the door cards…

Hazard warning

According to the vendor, there was an interesting byproduct of fitting such a big audio system to this Mercedes.

Bono also had to equip the car with this fire extinguisher, which you can see here in the passenger-side footwell, with the CD changer.

A master of understatement

We think this 450SEL’s grey paint suits it very well – and given the outlandish interior, such a smart and sober exterior finish is quite a contrast.

Unusually, whitewall tyres are fitted, all four of which are described by the vendor as ‘fairly new’.

City of Blinding Lights

That exterior restraint falls away the second you open a door.

Bono is famous for wearing sunglasses and with an interior like this, perhaps it is a requirement.

Zooming in

As you can see from this closer look, the cow-hide upholstery isn’t in perfect condition, although the rear seats fare much better in this regard than the fronts.

And, of course, because this 450SEL is the long-wheelbase model, which means its wheelbase is 100mm longer than the standard car’s, rear-seat occupants can enjoy plenty of legroom for wafting in comfort.

Wear and tear

And here are the front seats.

As you can see, the questionable interior trim has suffered the most on the driver’s seat. But then this Mercedes is a 163,000-mile example, so a lot of time has been spent in this seat.

The Sweetest Thing?

The good news is that the vendor says this classic Mercedes drives and pulls well.

And when that fuel-injected eight-cylinder engine is in fine fettle, it really is a marvellous motor – we can understand why Bono picked it.

Rechristened

Although today we know that the term ‘S-Class’ denotes the largest, most luxurious range from Mercedes-Benz, it was on this generation, the 116-series, that it was first used.

The range replaced the 108/109-series, which was produced between 1965 and 1972.

Matchy matchy

Colour-coded wheels don’t hurt this Mercedes’ classy appearance, do they?

Some of them show a bit of wear, so this is another area where a potential buyer could improve it.

Desire

This customised classic will not be for everyone – whether its next owner decides to retain that interior trim or not.

This is no concours queen, but a much-used car with a famous first owner, but you don’t see these too often and while Mercedes’ parts prices aren’t known to be cheap, it would be good to see this one, with its unique history, preserved.

Turn it up loud

And if you’re into your music – which is probably more than likely, given a key attraction is that this was once owned by U2’s Bono – at least you have a huge sound system through which to enjoy it.

Given the once-over

The vendor says that this car has recently benefited from a service, and received a new starter motor and battery, and it has been valeted.

However, its exhaust and rear silencer will need attention before too long.

Rising star?

This 41-year-old Mercedes-Benz isn’t perfect, then, but we are sure its special provenance will prove a draw for some.

These pioneering 116s were once world-beaters, after all, which is precisely what attracted famous buyers, just like Bono.

Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For

So, does this 1980 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL appeal to you?

It’s expected to command around £15,000 and will be sold in a three-day online auction on Car & Classic, starting on Sunday 18 July 2021 at 5pm (BST).