What's the coolest vehicle you've seen today? Whatever it is, it has nothing on this 1950 Mercedes-Benz race car transporter owned by Jay Leno and featured in the latest episode of Jay Leno's Garage.
Then again, not all is what meets the eye with this transporter.
Mercedes built just one back in 1950 to haul its race cars, but the automaker subsequently crushed it without really understanding its cultural and historical significance. That's a shame since the original transporter, nicknamed the Blue Wonder, was powered by the same engine used in the legendary 300SL.
The automaker commissioned a recreation that cost over $2 million (which could have been saved had they not destroyed the original back in 1967—whoops!), but that one is in Germany. Leno's transporter is also a recreation—but it was put together by an enterprising Swedish enthusiast. It's not an exact replica, but it's close.
Leno himself had to do a few modifications in order to make it properly road-worthy. Stay tuned to the entire video since Leno fills us in about how the replica was constructed.
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