Vehicle Description
Chassis No. 105379
Engine No. 105379
Body No. 815502
The Supercharged Eight-Cylinder Mercedes-Benz
One of the all-time great CCCA Full Classics, the Mercedes-Benz 500
K was a tour de force of superb engineering and sublime styling,
combining to make for one of the most beautiful and swift
automobiles of its era. The second generation of the supercharged
eight-cylinder models, following the predecessor 380 K, it was much
more powerful, capable of some 160 bhp when the driver pressed the
throttle to the floor and thus engaged the blower. The chassis upon
which this engine was mounted featured independent suspension by
coil springs at each wheel, as well as four-wheel hydraulic brakes,
enabling road manners that were quite sophisticated for the
mid-1930s and well-matched to the high performance.
Coachwork for the 500 K was produced by Mercedes-Benz's own
coachbuilders at Sindelfingen. Not just a factory body shop, the
Sindelfingen works were the equal of any coachbuilding firm in
Europe or the United States at the time, with a highly skilled
staff of designers and craftsmen who, to a man, did superb and
meticulous work. They produced several different bodies for the 500
K, including multiple cabriolet variants, each of them
well-tailored and exquisitely finished.
The Baron, The Castle, and The 500 K
Enthusiasts of Mercedes-Benzes of this era owe a great debt to the
devoted historian Jans Melin, who wrote several distinguished books
on the subject, including a Swedish-language publication called
Mercedes-Benz 1930-Talets Kompressorvagnar i Norden, a study of the
supercharged models that found their way to the Nordic countries.
It is this volume that features and lavishly describes the history
of this particular car, chassis number 105379.
It was fortunate to be one of thirty-three 500 Ks delivered with
one of the inarguably most beautiful designs built for these cars
by the Sindelfingen shops, the Cabriolet A. This style, in its
earliest iteration as seen here, retained the best styling features
of the earlier SSK, including a passenger compartment moved back on
the chassis frame, as well as incredibly long open front fenders, a
low top and windshield, and dual rear-mounted spares. The result
was an automobile of gorgeous lines with nearly perfect
proportions, ideal for sailing down a country road with the
supercharger wailing - and, significantly, always a favorite of
modern concours judges.
Finished in Beaver Grey with blood-red pigskin upholstery, the 500
K was delivered in Stuttgart on April 30, 1935, to Baron Carl-Otto
Silfverschi�ld and brought to his home at the 18th century
G�sevadholm Castle in Hallan, which today remains a home of his
daughter-in-law, Princess Desiree of Sweden. For whatever reason,
the Baron appears to have not actually registered the car in
Sweden, under the number N 143, until nearly a year later, on 27
April 1936, although given the similarity in the dates this may
have simply been a numerical error on behalf of the registrar.
The Baron appears to have been a long-term owner of his 500 K,
possessing it through the war years; on 1 September 1950, he
re-registered it as P 19708, this time at a new address at Koberg
in Vastergotland. Charles-Emile von Oelreich acquired it from the
Baron later that month, commenting later that despite the new
registration he had acquired it at G�sevadholm Castle, where it had
been parked on blocks since the Baroness incorrectly threaded the
spare wheel when trying to change out a flat tire in 1948. New
owner Von Oelreich repaired the car and reportedly enjoyed several
long journeys in it during the postwar years.
In the early 1950s the 500 K passed to a new owner in Koping, then
in 1954 to Birger Ludvigsson of Eskiltuna, and finally to Allan
Karlsson of Mariefred, who informed Melin that he "thought it was
fantastic and the only problem was the crowds around the car when
it was parked for a while" - a phenomenon with which any modern 500
K driver will be equally familiar. Gosta Westerberg acquired the
car thereafter and in the early 1960s undertook a restoration,
after which it was purchased by Sven Harnstrom, a well-known
enthusiast who used it at many club meetings and rallies through
Sweden over the next decade. During this time it became an
especially well-known example of the 500 K in its longtime
country.
Following two more brief Nordic owners, the 500 K finally departed
the country of its delivery in 1983 when sold to a new owner in
West Germany. In the late 1980s this new caretaker undertook a
complete restoration in the hands of Rolf Bunte, in which the
livery was changed to this handsome combination of rich grey and
black with red leather interior, likely not all that different from
the Baron's original color scheme of 1935. Following completion of
the work, the car remained in this ownership until 2004, when it
joined a large supercharged Mercedes-Benz collection in The
Netherlands - from which the Academy of Art University acquired it
in early 2013. Maintained in the University's Automobile Collection
for the last ten years, it has been occasionally exhibited at West
Coast concours d'elegance. Most prominently it last appeared in
2013 at Pebble Beach, winning Second in Class behind only the famed
Baroness von Krieger 500 K Spezialroadster.
The 500 K remains in good overall condition, with its now
forty-year-old restoration largely holding up extremely well aside
from checking on the rear valance. The red pigskin interior shows
an attractive patina, as does the black leather top, an excellent
touch which, combined with the sober color scheme and use of
blackwall tires, gives the car an appropriately muscular and
businesslike aura. A period radio, with settings for various
European capitals, is mounted at the driver's left knee.
Factory spot welds are still visible on certain parts of the body
sheet metal under the car, indicating that despite its Nordic
origins the 500 K was always a reasonably well-maintained and
intact automobile. Previous restorations appear to have been
extremely thorough, with much of the body woodwork replaced to an
extremely professional standard throughout. The car retains its
original firewall typenschild plate and the original engine with
its correct stamping and plate.
One of the finest examples of the 500 K presently available, Baron
Carl-Otto Silfverschi�ld's Cabriolet A looks exactly as one would
want it to - finished in superbly chosen colors inside and out,
with fine attention to detail visible throughout, and with just
enough patina to want to slip behind the wheel and roar down one's
favorite open highway, or take to the CCCA CARavan or the Colorado
Grand for a long-distance journey. Its supercharged power is
abundant; its styling is glorious; its potential is limitless. It
is a feast for the senses.
Addendum & Administrative Notes
Please note that this lot is titled by its engine number.
