Paul Weller’s 1972 Mercedes-Benz W114 250 — a car the musician used for school runs and to compose several songs — will be offered at auction in November, Iconic Auctioneers said.
The Midnight Blue saloon, which Weller owned from 1996 until 2014, will go under the hammer at the auction house’s Collectors’ Car Sale at the NEC Classic Motor Show on Saturday, Nov. 8. The house described the vehicle as “well-restored and very well-presented,” with a recorded mileage of 80,743 and a pre-sale estimate of £40,000 to £50,000.
Iconic’s managing director, Rob Hubbard, said cars with “genuine cultural provenance are rare” and that the W114 “links music and motoring in a way that speaks to enthusiasts and fans alike.” The auction house noted the Mercedes’s combination of celebrity provenance and mechanical pedigree as factors likely to draw interest from both car collectors and fans of Weller and his bands.
The W114 was presented to Weller on his 38th birthday in 1996 after being sourced by his father and long-term manager, John. The singer-songwriter used the car as a daily companion and has said he wrote songs in it; Iconic and other sources cite examples including “Driving Nowhere” from his fourth solo album and “Heavy Soul” and “All on a Misty Morning” from his eighth album, As Is Now. The vehicle gained a further mark of authentication when Weller signed the plastic centre console during a 2018 reunion at his Black Barn Studio in Surrey after the car had been refurbished.
The car was sold by Weller in 2014 and initially purchased by Andy Ash of Andy’s Autobarn in Ashford, who planned restoration work. A subsequent buyer, described by the auction house as a devoted Weller fan, commissioned an in-depth refurbishment that was completed in 2018. Following the restoration the Mercedes has appeared at exhibitions and been used on guided “Tufty Tours” of Weller-related sites to raise funds for charities, with the Weller family’s blessing.
Mercedes-Benz introduced the W114 range in 1968 as part of a push to broaden its market. The 250 model occupied a higher position within the range and, in period specification, used a straight-six 2.8-litre engine producing around 128 bhp, paired with a reworked four-speed automatic transmission. Contemporary Mercedes literature claimed a top speed of about 106 mph, and the model was praised in its era for build quality, steering and road holding.
The Weller lot is part of a broader autumn calendar of celebrity-related cars heading to market. On Sept. 20, Historics Auctioneers will offer actor Jude Law’s 2009 Audi S8, a 16-year-old luxury saloon powered by a Lamborghini-derived 5.8-litre V10 and showing 63,239 miles; the guide price ahead of the Pace of Autumn sale at Ascot Racecourse is £11,000 to £16,000. The same Historics sale includes former Chelsea and England captain John Terry’s 2004 Aston Martin Vanquish, a 460 bhp V12 model with 26,500 miles, for which the house has issued an estimate of £38,000 to £46,000.
Iconic Auctioneers will present the W114 at the NEC event in November alongside a varied catalogue of modern classics and sought-after collectors’ cars. The auction house has not provided a reserve price; final hammer figures will be determined on the day by competitive bidding.