To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sothebys' Essen event, 11 - 12 April
2019.
Estimate:
€2.000.000 - €2.400.000
- Offered from a Private Swiss Collection
- Outstandingly handsome example of Sindelfingen coachwork
- Retains its original chassis, engine, gearbox and bodywork
- Extraordinary level of originality and authenticity
- High-quality restoration that presents well
- Legendary supercharged pre-war Mercedes-Benz chassis
The magnificent Mercedes-Benz 500 K and its successor, the 540 K,
were arguably the most noteworthy production models offered by the
Stuttgart firm during the 1930s. The 540 K was developed from the
500 K and shared its independently suspended chassis, while the 540
K was bored up to 5.4 litres of supercharged straight-eight
power.
The 540 K was one of the first models developed under Mercedes' new
chief engineer, ex-racing driver Max Sailer, successor to Hans
Nibel, who had died in November 1934 at the age of only 54. The
model featured the company's famous Roots-type supercharger system
in which pressing the accelerator pedal to the end of its travel
would simultaneously engage the compressor and close off the
alternative atmospheric intake to the carburettor. This system had
been thoroughly proven on the preceding series of Dr
Porsche-conceived S-Type cars, and in effect the 540 K was the last
supercharged production Mercedes-Benz until relatively recent
times.
The 540 K was launched at the Paris Salon in October 1936 with an
engine that developed 115 bhp un-supercharged or 180 bhp with the
compressor engaged. The gearbox was a four-speed, but with a direct
top gear rather than the overdrive ratio used on the earlier 500 K.
With the supercharger engaged, the 540 K's blown straight-eight
gave it a top speed approaching 110 mph (177 km/h) easily
controlled by servo-assisted hydraulic braking.
Its performance potential was such that Mercedes-Benz in the UK
retained racing driver Goffredo 'Freddy' Zehender as technical
advisor and demonstration driver, since the supercharged Mercedes
was one of the few genuine 100-mph road cars available in the
1930s.
Tested by Britain's Motor magazine, the 540 K was deemed to have
lighter steering and handling than its 500 K predecessor, plus an
even more comfortable ride, even though the same all-round
independent suspension layout with parallel links and coil springs
at the front and swing axles at the rear was retained. Motor's test
car returned 102 mph over the timed quarter-mile with the
supercharger engaged and 85 mph with it disengaged. Such
performance was achieved at the cost of 11 mpg petrol consumption,
but the servo-assisted brakes came in for fulsome praise, the
blower was found to be relatively quiet and the steering and
handling also compared favourably with the 500 K.
The 540 K chassis no. 154078 was ordered on 4 August 1936 by
British Mercedes-Benz in London on behalf of Page Motors Ltd. in
Epsom, Surrey, a few miles southwest of London. On 7 December 1936,
the finished car was delivered by Sindelfingen to be shipped by
rail to London where it arrived on 12 December, resplendent in
light green paint set off by a pale-yellow top, brown headliner and
seats upholstered in the finest pig skin. Being an export to
England, the chassis was right-hand drive and in the sporty
Cabriolet A style with an integrated trunk and the spare wheel
carried in an indentation in the elegantly sloping rear deck.
Sindelfingen built 32 of these opulent cars, and only 18 are
believed to exist today.
The first owner was a Mr Paine who likely lived in Warwickshire, as
the transport archive of the Kithead Trust shows that the car
passed from an owner in Warwickshire to a second owner in London in
December 1937 with license plate no. EPK 402. A photo of this car
from the 1960s is pictured in Volume 2 of Jan Melin's book
Mercedes-Benz 8. In addition, the Kithead Trust states that the car
was likely last licensed in the UK sometime around 1960 and that it
was possibly exported in 1964, likely to France. The next owner was
a Jean-Paul La Fuge who lived on Avenue Rapp in Paris. From 1992 to
2009, the car was in the ownership of Eduard Bollmeyer of B�nde,
Germany, and in 2009, he sold it to Eric van Lammeren of
Munich.
Van Lammeren kept chassis no. 154078 until 2015, and from 2010 to
2014, he had important mechanical repair and fettling work carried
out that totalled more than €50.000. In addition, approximately
€40.000 were spent at the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in 2015 and
2016, all of which can be inspected in the very comprehensive file
that accompanies the car.
In 2015, a Manufacturer's Expert Assessment of chassis no. 154078
was commissioned from Mercedes-Benz Classic. The conclusion of this
very thorough and complete investigation into the details of the
car was that while the restoration displays a different livery
compared to when it was new, it is correct and numbers matching.
Not only are major mechanical components such as the engine block,
gear box, rear axle and steering assembly the original pieces
manufactured by Mercedes-Benz for chassis no. 154078 in the fall of
1936, the body is also the original body that was first mounted on
the chassis and all numbers found on the car match the Kommission
paper, or build sheet. Even the composition of the steel of the
chassis members was analysed, leading to the conclusion that the
steel is the correct metal used by Mercedes-Benz as chassis steel
for supercharged cars in the 1930s.
The Mercedes-Benz 540 K remains one of the best-known and iconic
models of the immediate pre-war years and was a technological
yardstick by which the power and performance of lesser cars were
measured. A number of body styles were offered, designed and
constructed by Sindelfingen. All shared the powerful 540 K chassis
and high-quality body construction. But while most of the sold cars
were practical and roomy closed cars or four-seat Cabriolet B or C
styles, few were bodied to the highly desirable and sporting
Cabriolet A configuration. With its close-coupled two-seat body,
set-back radiator, sweeping fenders and integrated trunk, it cut a
dashing figure indeed. The 540 K Cabriolet A is a scarce model in
itself. The extraordinary level of originality and authenticity
offered by chassis 154078 makes it a very rare automobile
indeed.
• Aus einer privaten Schweizer Sammlung
• Au�ergew�hnlich sch�ne Karosserie von Sindelfingen
• Chassis, Motor, Getriebe und Karosserie original
• Au�ergew�hnlich hohes Niveau an Originalit�t und
Authentizit�t
• Qualitativ hochwertige Restaurierung in sehr gutem Zustand
• Legend�res Kompressor-Mercedes Vorkriegschassis
Der gro�artige Mercedes-Benz 500 K und sein Nachfolger 540 K
geh�ren unzweifelhaft zu den wichtigsten Serienfahrzeugen des
Stuttgarter Herstellers aus den 30er Jahren. Der 540 K entstand aus
dem 500 K und �bernahm das Fahrwerk mit vorderer
Einzelradaufh�ngung, verf�gte aber �ber einen auf 5.4 Liter
aufgebohrten aufgeladenen Reihenachtzylinder.
Der 540 K war eines der ersten unter dem neuen
Mercedes-Chefingenieur Max Sailer entstandenenen Modelle. Der
ehemalige Rennfahrer Sailer war Nachfolger des im November 1934 im
Alter von nur 54 Jahren verstorbenen Hans Nibel. Dieses Modell
verf�gte �ber das ber�hmte Roots-System, bei dem durch
vollst�ndiges Dr�cken des Gaspedals der Kompressor zu- und die
alternative Luftzufuhr zum Vergaser abgeschaltet wurde. Dieses
System hatte sich bereits in einer Reihe von Dr. Porsche
entwickelter Fahrzeuge bew�hrt. Der 540 K sollte auf lange Zeit das
letzte ko...for more information please contact the seller.
