Still in the hands of its original owners, who bought it as a retirement present to themselves, the sales invoice shows they ticked the boxes for: Tot that little lot up, add the base price of £34,185, and you arrive at an on-the-road price of £40,609.

A prudent pair with an eye on the long-term, they also treated ‘RV05 MRU’ to a Superguard treatment to preserve that gorgeous blue paintwork.

They used the same Mercedes-Benz main agent throughout for servicing too; if you’re looking for an original example with an impeccable provenance, look no further.

Only ever used as a second car (day-to-day duties were the responsibility of their family workhorse), they’re starting to find it a bit hard to get in and out of, so if you’ve ever lusted after an SLK350, this is the one to buy.

The SLK’s design is as fresh now as it ever was; pop a private registration number on and the casual observer could easily mistake it for a much, much newer car.

And that timeless design is helped by the fac...