---
title: "This 1999 Mercedes-Benz SL 73 AMG Is Three Times Rarer Than a Pagani Zonda"
description: "It's also where the Italian supercar got its massive 7.3-liter V-12 from."
date: "2019-09-29"
modified: "2019-09-29"
authors:
  - name: "Chris Chin"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/chris-chin"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/30076/this-1999-mercedes-benz-sl-73-amg-is-three-times-rarer-than-a-pagani-zonda"
categories:
  - "Mercedes-Benz News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "Convertible"
  - "luxury"
  - "Mercedes-AMG"
  - "SL"
  - "sports car"
---

# This 1999 Mercedes-Benz SL 73 AMG Is Three Times Rarer Than a Pagani Zonda

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2019/09/1999-Mercedes-BEnz-SL-73-AMG-RMSothebys-Sept-2019-Hero.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

This is no ordinary Mercedes-Benz SL-Class. Although it may look like your typical [R129-gen car](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/9157/rich-owner-abandoned-this-81-mile-1996-sl500-after-losing-her-keys>) from the late 1990s, it’s actually rarer than a Pagani Zonda supercar. That’s because this specific SL on sale courtesy of [RM Sotheby’s](<https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/lf19/london/lots/r0014-1999-mercedes-benz-sl-73-amg/797029>) is one of only 85 AMG-modified SL 73s in existence—basically a top-specification V12 SL 600 done up by AMG itself.

Built between 1995 and 2001, the R129 SL 73 is essentially the precursor to the modern-day SL 65 AMG. Engineers took the already-potent 6.0-liter V12 from the SL 600, bumped its displacement to 7.3-liters and modified its technical workings to produce a whopping 525 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque. To this day, the SL 73 features the largest displacement V12 ever fitted to any road-going Mercedes-Benz.

![message-editor%2F1569759821163-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept2019.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1569759821163-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept2019.jpg>)
*Tom Wood for RM Sotheby's*

![message-editor%2F1569759829231-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept20191.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1569759829231-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept20191.jpg>)
*Tom Wood for RM Sotheby's*

![message-editor%2F1569759839346-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept20192.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1569759839346-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept20192.jpg>)
*Tom Wood for RM Sotheby's*

![message-editor%2F1569759848517-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept20193.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1569759848517-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept20193.jpg>)
*Tom Wood for RM Sotheby's*

![message-editor%2F1569759855655-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept20194.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1569759855655-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept20194.jpg>)
*Tom Wood for RM Sotheby's*

![message-editor%2F1569759864598-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept20195.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1569759864598-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept20195.jpg>)
*Tom Wood for RM Sotheby's*

Its engine was so potent that Pagani chose to use it in the [production of its Zonda](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/28545/listen-to-over-40-pagani-zonda-and-huayra-supercars-storm-the-historic-monza-circuit>) supercar. Shockingly, there are three times as many Zondas in the world as there are SL 73s.

Mercedes-AMGs may seem commonplace nowadays but back when this SL 73 was new, it came from a time when AMG was still independent of Mercedes-Benz. It wasn’t until 1999 that Daimler-Chrysler AG purchased its first official controlling stake in AMG.

![message-editor%2F1569759897965-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept201910.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1569759897965-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept201910.jpg>)
*Tom Wood for RM Sotheby's*

![message-editor%2F1569759906869-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept20196.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1569759906869-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept20196.jpg>)
*Tom Wood for RM Sotheby's*

![message-editor%2F1569759915748-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept20197.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1569759915748-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept20197.jpg>)
*Tom Wood for RM Sotheby's*

![message-editor%2F1569759924822-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept20198.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1569759924822-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept20198.jpg>)
*Tom Wood for RM Sotheby's*

![message-editor%2F1569759932461-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept20199.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1569759932461-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept20199.jpg>)
*Tom Wood for RM Sotheby's*

![message-editor%2F1569759939544-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept201911.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1569759939544-1999mercedes-benzsl73amg-rmsothebyssept201911.jpg>)
*Tom Wood for RM Sotheby's*

In addition to being forbidden fruit on U.S. shores, any official AMG-modified [R129 SL Class](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/27028/this-1100-mile-1992-mercedes-benz-500sl-was-stolen-off-the-showroom-floor-and-now-its-for-sale>) is a rare beast as the company churned out only 300 examples total worldwide in any form.

This specific Merc is a left-hand-drive, Japanese-market car having clocked only 35,000 kilometers, or about 21,747 miles. A price estimate isn’t mentioned in the auction listing, but a similar 1996 SL 73 with 91,000 kilometers sold back in [2015 for around $131,220](<https://www.classicdriver.com/en/car/mercedes-benz/sl/1996/331811>). With that in mind, we imagine this black-on-black gem won’t be had for cheap when it goes to its next owner.

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