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Retro
SeriesMERCEDES-BENZ 540K 911936 WORDS MICHAEL STAHL
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ning beacon of beauty for all, and
ght for those who could afford it
T expensive Mercedes-Benz model you can buy right now
AMG Cabriolet, an imposingly sized, drop-top grand tourer
rce-fed engine and opulent interior. Few rivals can match its
tion of elegance, aggression, grace and pace.
d a mere 80 years and you’d be describing another Mercedes-
540K, in its four-seater cabriolet or even more exclusive Special
guise. Known internally as the W24, the 540K – introduced in
he Paris motor show – had at least a spiritual connection to the
ession SSK (‘Super Sport Kurz’) racer, whose supercharged,
line six-cylinder engine was developed by Ferdinand Porsche.
half the 40 SSKs built were delivered as racing cars; the
er would signal a growing market for exclusive sports-touring
dels. These began to take shape in the 380 (1932) that introduced
e, straight-eight OHV engine – many fitted with a kompressor
harger) – and the company’s first all-independent suspension.
evolution of that, in turn, was the 5.0-litre 500K (1934-36), whose
ne 100mph performance and opulent styling soon found its
oice in the bigger-engined 540K. Of the body styles fitted, the
ority were designed by in-house maestro Hermann Ahrens and
lt by the company’s own Sindelfingen coachworks. And the
imate indulgence was the 540K Special Roadster.
t had everything: colossal size (at 5.3m long), imposing power
5kW being spectacular stuff in a production model), yet
hingly elegant lines. Even among those Germans who couldn’t
ford it – which was all but a few hundred of them – the 540K
as symbolic of a nation whose miraculous economic recovery
om WW1 rode, to a considerable extent, on the investment in its
tobahns, its automotive industry and its engineering superiority
general. To this day, it is regarded as one of the most beautiful
rs of all time.
For Mercedes-Benz the 540K was no less significant in
menting the company’s recovery from the Depression years: in
32, its total automotive production was just 6000 units, but by
35 this had escalated to more than 15,000. By 1939, prior to the
tbreak of war, it was on track to produce 30,000 vehicles.
Of the 540K series, Mercedes-Benz built just 419 examples,
ch were variously delivered as bare chassis, two-door sedans,
s and a majority in cabriolets. It’s believed that only 25 were
th Special Roadster coachwork. The surviving examples now
he region of US$10-$12m.Tough crowd
The 540K attracted some
infamous owners, both at the
time (Nazi general Hermann
Goering) and more recently,
er, Bernie Ecclestone.Record roadster
Ecclestone sold his silver 1937
roadster, engine number 154086,
in 2007 for £3.9m (A$ 6.5m), at
the time an auction record for a
Mercedes road model.Ashin
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