Vehicle Description
Genuine 500K Chassis restored and rebodied by Franz Prahl! Now
sporting the highest quality Special Roadster coachwork! Absolutely
stunning in every way with Concours provenance! A must see for both
Mercedes-Benz and classic car collectors!
In the eyes of many, the Mercedes-Benz 500/540K embodies the true
forward-thinking prowess of pre-war Germany! A successor to the
almost instantly famous S/SS/SSK/SSKL models of the late 20s, the
500K (internal codename W29) bowed its head in 1934 in both
chassis-only and one of thirteen different factory bespoke
bodystyles. Assembled in Sindelfingen, the factory Mercedes cars
were built on one of two wheelbases with three configurations.
Featuring a 5.0L Inline 8 with a Roots supercharger and standard
four speed manual (five speed optional!), the 500K was a truly
ferocious car. The chassis consisted of a fully independent double
wishbone front end and double-joint swing axle in the back,
allowing a sporting but very comfortable ride! Aesthetically
perfect, decades ahead mechanically and ultra rare, the 500K
represents one of the finest motorcars to ever come out of
Germany!
We couldn't be more excited to offer this 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K
Special Roadster! The car comes finished in a beautiful and period
shade of Ivory White over sumptuous Tan leather interior with
matching Tan soft top! Under the hood is the original 500K 5.0L
Inline 8 (dated March 5th, 1935) and supercharger that are mated to
a standard four-speed manual transmission. The car has exquisite
details and many standard features that include rear rumble-seat,
auxiliary soft top, fully enclosed rear-mount spare tire, fully
backlit gauges, dual cowl vents, front fog light, safety glass,
vacuum-assist hydraulic brakes and 12V charging to power the power
locks, windshield wipers and side indicators! The car rides on
chromed wire wheels with Ivory Mercedes-Benz knock-offs wrapped in
Dunlop Fort 7.00-17 blackwall tires!
The previous owner of the car, Mr. Fred Kemp, found this example in
1993. Having already owned a 540K, he had spent 30 years looking
for a 500K Special Roadster, which he considered to be one of, if
not the prettiest, Mercedes-Benz in their history. After some
researching and scouring of enthusiast communities, he was pointed
to the Carrosserie Kong restoration shop in Basel, Switzerland,
where they had started on the restoration of a 500K Cabriolet B.
Chassis number 123686 was delivered new to a Mr. Brenninkmeyer of
England in 1935 as a black right-hand-drive model. Its whereabouts
are scattered until 1974, when Bud Cohn helps Kalle Karlstr�m of
Los Angeles purchase the car. It was returned to Europe when Kalle
sold the car to Peter Haverton of Sweden. Not long after, the car
was sold to another Swede, who placed it in the Drottningholm
Collection, where the restoration first began at Rohdins
Automobilservice in Trollh�ttan. Fast forward to 1992, the car had
disappeared to Germany and started a restoration at Kong. The new
owner, a Dr. Harald Alfers, had disassembled the car and was just
starting to put it back together when Mr. Kemp found him. After
admitting that he was searching for an authentic chassis,
negotiations started. They would continue until 1995 when Mr. Kemp
was finally able to secure the unfinished project for himself,
while also establishing a relationship with a new carrosseie to
finish the custom Special Roadster body. Franz Prahl Klassische
Automobile GmbH Co. KG was responsible for the completion of
engine, chassis, body and interior and documented this process in
great detail and with many pictures. The final receipt of purchase
was dated January 13th, 1999 and the car was to be finished before
the beginning of the new millennium but as with many projects of
this magnitude, there were delays in the completion of certain
tasks. The car was finally finished in June of 2000, where it was
test driven and any post-restoration bugs were worked out. It was
appraised at 2,000,000 deutsche marks before Mr. Kemp briefly
toured Germany in it and then sent it stateside. It cleared customs
on September 1st and arrived in St. Louis two weeks later. Since
restoration, it has been proudly displayed at many prominent shows
and concours events that include but are not limited to: 2001
Pebble Beach Concours dElegance, 2008 Amelia Island Concours
dElegance, 2009 Ault Park Concours dElegance (Awarded Jack OConner
trophy for Best Style Elegance) 2009 Hilton Head Concours dElegance
(awarded for Automotive Design Excellence), 2010 Meadow Brook
Concours dElegance and the 2012 Amelia Island Concours dElegance
(awarded the John North Trophy for Best New Coachwork or
Recreation/First in Class). For over ten years, this 500 K Special
Roadster has been the crown jewel display at the Kemp Auto Museum
until the museum closed in June of 2015. Along with several other
dozen collectible antique Benzes, this was perhaps one of the most
interesting looks into the marques history,receiving positive
reviews from both well-studied purveyors as well as the average old
car enthusiasts.
Today, the car presents just as it was restored. It will show only
the most minor wear from occasional use and is nothing short of
Concours-ready! All Mercedes-Benz markings and stamps are visible
and in line with production dates in the first part of 1935. The
engine and chassis numbers match and enough of the cars history is
known to paint a picture of the ownership timeline . Included with
the car is a box of labeled folders with receipts, history,
documentation, correspondence, concours invites and photographs
documenting the car in graphic detail from 1992. Each of the photos
below of documentation is from a different year from 1992-2000.
Even the most discerning enthusiasts will find it hard to fault the
amounts of records, from the earliest restoration receipts that are
now well over 20 years old, to the 100+ photos taken by Prahl of
the most minute restoration details. It becomes immediately clear
that the craftsmanship was at least as finite as that of the
original fabricators in Sindelfingen. The painstaking attention to
detail resulted in a ground-up refurbishment and restoration that
cost upward of $1.5 million.
Showing only 1369 kilometers (~851 miles) since restoration, this
500K has been driven enough to get all post-restoration bugs worked
out. The vehicle is quite literally ready for any driving or
concours event and would even be up for a nice afternoon of
cruising. This car presents a very unique opportunity to own not
only one of the most beautiful Mercedes-Benz models but also one of
the most stunning pre-war cars, and one that has made many most
beautiful cars of all time lists. The car is eligible for almost
any prestigious car collecting event and is among the most
top-notch CCCA full classics that money will buy. With prices of
the remaining 500Kspushing overeight figures in price, it is our
opinion that this is a fantastic entry into the automobile
collecting elite. In addition to the 200+ pictures, we would be
thrilled to answer any additional questions you may have on this
exquisite automobile and would encourage interested parties to call
with additional questions! Thank you for taking the time to
look!