Car believed to have been owned by Elvis Presley on show

(6 Oct 2016) LEAD IN
If you prefer practical, cheap and green cars - then look away.
The vehicles on show at Motor World Classics fair in Berlin are mostly expensive and belong to an era of gas guzzling engines.
But they come with a history and a certain retro style.

STORY-LINE
This is a Mercedes-Benz 300 SC Cabriolet from 1957.
Only 49 editions were made and most were exported to the US where they were sold for over 80,000 dollars, a huge sum in those days.
This one has survived intact, and actually made its way back to Germany where it is now one of the stars of the Motor World Classic car fair in Berlin.
It is not as fast as cars made today, it will hit 100 kilometres per hour (62 miles) in about 13 seconds.
While the top speed is 180 kilometres per hour (111 miles per hour).
The price is up for negotiation, but don't expect to drive away with this one for under 1-million euros (1.2-million dollars)
"This is one of the most rare cars that Mercedes-Benz built after the war. It is a 300 SC with a fuel-injection engine from 1957. It was the finest that was available at that time," says Dietrich Gross, owner of 'Rosier Classic Sterne' classic car dealership.
Hundreds of cars from 220 exhibitors are shown here at the Motor World Classics car fair.
Another star is the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster from 1961.
It has a top speed of 250 kilometres per hour (155 miles per hour).
1,858 editions of this car were built in total.
This one is likely to sell for over 1.5-million euros (1.68-million dollars).
Prices in the classic car market are currently plateauing after years of strong growth.
In 2015, prices increased by 16.57 percent, according to the Historic Automobile Group International (HAGI) top index which traces car prices for the market as a whole.
But indications are that prices are not increasing as much in 2016, according to HAGI.
Prices have increased by just 4.65 percent since the start of the year.
It appears that the market is becoming splintered, with the high-end ultra expensive cars still selling strong, but the mid-segment slowing significantly.
"It depends on the market segment," says Gross.
"The high-end classic cars are still selling very well. They are rare and therefore very expensive and in general they are purchased by very rich people. They will always have money. They buy them out of love, and sometimes as an investment. There is always a market for these types of cars. It is harder with cars that are in poor quality, those that are not that rare. For those cars the market is slow."
The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing is definitely at the very high-end of the market, likely to sell for around 1.5-million euros (1.68-million dollars).
But the Sunbeam Talbot 90 from 1953 falls in to the mid-range segment with a set price tag of 129,000 euro (144,210 dollars).
It is still a striking, classic car that has been featured in movies like the 1955 classic "To Catch a Thief" with Grace Kelly and Cary Grant.
"You see the difference to vehicles that are produced today when you look at the passion for the details. Many of them are made in small productions, not mass production that you mostly get today," says Andreas Duenkel, head of Motor World Classics car fair.
"Sometimes only a few were produced, sometimes a few hundred. When you look at the motor you will realise how much love and commitment the mechanics and manufacturers put in to the vehicles."
Another star of the fair is a Cadillac Eldorado from 1967.
It is not a very rare car, and it's not even in a good state.
But there is a reason it has a price tag of about half a million euros.
It comes with the original papers that are said to prove that Elvis bought the car in 1967.
The 'Motor World Classics' fair runs through to October 9.


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