On June 25, 1977, Claude François left his Paris home with four of his friends to join his mill in Danmois, in the south of the Paris region.
For this, he takes the A6 Motorway with his last car, the Mercedes 450 SEL; An S class equipped with a V8 that develops 286 horsepower. What he doesn’t know yet is whether he will meet Guy Neumayer, known as “The Crazy”, at the wheel of his CX a little while later. And the Mercedes he bought and repainted it blue would become a legend.
Profession, Safe Piercer
In his CX, Guy Neumeyer is accompanied by his usual collaborators with names that give inexpensive thrillers: “Galloche”, “Ritén”, “Le gros Denis” or “Poquit”.
His specialty? Since the early seventies, they have been extensively in banks where they hacked the safes with blowtorches. Suffice it to say that the big Mercedes overtaking him on the highway will bother him.
Above the law, they follow the car and begin shooting.
seven 9-millimeter impact
The chase will end only at the entrance to the village of Danmois, when the CX walks to the outskirts of Claude François’s estate.
The Cloclo will get seven impacts on the car: one bullet in the rear window, one in the right turn signal, one in the tire and… one in the dashboard. No one on board was injured.
The next day, clearly shocked, the singer opened her door to television and the media; It must be said that in 1975, he survived an IRA attack at the Hilton Hotel in London.
a prestigious car
The Mercedes 450 SEL was newly delivered to Claude François in 1976. Painted blue, it was next to the 450 SLC. The registered 327 BJX 75, 450 SEL was 5.06 meters long and weighed about two tons.
The machine was fitted with an automatic gearbox and pneumatic suspension as standard; It was the epitome of luxury.
Repaired in the rules, it then belonged to his friend Alain Dominique Perrin.
It was auctioned on 5 September 2015 by Bonhams auction house for €97,500.