West Coast Classics are proud to present a stunning and exceptional example of this unique CA titled 0000 SPCNS 'Heritage Motor Cars' built 1934 Mercedes 500K Special Roadster Replica in 'Black & Maroon' two-tone exterior paint with a striking matching interior and a Black soft top with a Chevrolet Corvette 5.7L 350 V8 engine & trans & with some 24K miles on the build!
Fully optioned by Heritage with:
Chevrolet 350 V8 engine
Chevrolet 350 Automatic Trans
2 x Cowl lights with attached side view mirrors & center spotlight $295
2 x Trumpet Style Horns $145
2 x Protective Running Boards trim $95
Stainless Steel Charger Pipes $195
Old Style Gauges with Custom Dashboard & Woodgrain Overlays for dash & door panels $495
High Performance Suspension Package including custom rear leaf springs, road leveler shock absorbers, polyurethane bushing set, upper & lower control arms, rear spring eyes & body mount bushings $425
Custom rearview mirror, built in dual map lights, door activated courtesy light $95
3rd brake light $95
Spare tire cover $95
Air conditioner adaptor kit with condensor unit $215
Chrome wire basket wheels $595
Leather package including seats, upper dashboard & grab straps $1,395
Power windows & door locks $895
Heat & Sound Insulation Package $125
Safety Belt Package $355
Power Steering
Power Brakes
Built on a Camaro sub frame by the renown 'Heritage Motor Cars' of Miami, FL this 1934 Mercedes 500K replica, the car has vintage air and is also California legal with a CA title as a 2000 Special Construction vehicle and fully insurable.
Dating back to an era when style was as important as function, and there was no such thing as 'over-engineered', the Mercedes 500K was likely the pinnacle of pre-war European automotive engineering. Built in coupe, cabriolet, Special Roadster and armored limousine models, the Special Roadster was always the most desirable of cars and they are known to to achieve north of $10M at auction today with the one of most recent 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadsters selling for $11,770,000 at Gooding & Co in Monterey in August 2012.
A streamlined 1930's follow up to the massive, Ferdinand Porsche designed, (the Mercedes chief engineer until 1928 when he was replaced by Hans Nibel) S/SS/SSK of the late 1920's, which had made the Mercedes marque synonymous with supercharging in the late 1920's, was the 1933 380K supercharged straight 8 with clutch in blower and all independent suspension as before. Daimler Benz's Sindelfingen works supplied the impressive bodies and top speed was 90mph for the 380K and up to 105mph for the 1936 540K. This would prove to be Daimler Benz's ultimate creation in this period apart from the Grossers and priced accordingly, hence the low production. Styling was especially beautiful on the fully streamlined 500/540 Special Roadster which now has the distinction of being amongst the most expensive of all collector cars anywhere in the world.
The first in the line was the 380 in 1933, which although blown like its big brothers was felt to still be underpowered, then in 1934 was born the 500K (K for 'Kompressor' or 'Supercharger'). The 500K was built to be magnificent. Its 5.0L engine was moved 7" back in the chassis to allow the radiator grille to be set right back in the axle line. The folding bonnet was impossibly long with sweeping front fenders and front opening suicide doors and there were many body styles, all breathtaking. In 1936 came the ultimate incarnation, the 540K with 180HP, which became renowned for its fearsome scream when the supercharger was engaged. Unusually for exclusive cars of the time, nearly all the K cars were bodied at the factory instead of having independently coach built bodies, as had been the custom until this time. The four-seater cabriolet B and two-seater Cabriolet A are highly prized but it is the Special Roadster which is the supreme embodiment to this day. It has more curves and chrome than almost any car in history, the epitome of 'erotic' aesthetics in car design.
The cars were purchased by only the world's richest men - an Indian Maharajah infamously used his to hunt tigers. Unfortunately they also became renown as the prized cars of the Nazi high command with an infamous order of 20 armored versions of the 540K for Third Reich officers. The styling of the 540K may be overblown and even verge on caricature but the Special Roadster is today one of the most expensive cars in the world for good reason due to its unique styling and seven decades later its image is still helping sell Mercedes-Benz internationally.
The straight 8 cylinder engine of the 500K was enlarged in displacement to 5,401 cubic cm (329.6 cu in) and was fed by twin pressurized updraft carbs developing 115 hp (86 kW). In addition, there was an attached 'Roots' supercharger which could either be engaged manually for short periods, or automatically when the accelerator was pushed fully to the floor. This increased power to 180 hp enabling a top speed of 110 mph. Power was sent to the rear wheels through a four-speed or optional five speed manual gearbox that featured synchromesh on the top three gears. Vacuum-assisted hydraulic brakes kept the car under the driver's control.
The 540K had the same chassis layout as the 500K, but was significantly lightened by replacing the girder-like frame of the 500K with oval-section tubes - an influence of the Silver Arrows racing campaign. Chassis production ceased in 1940, with the final 2 being completed that year, and earlier chassis were still being bodied at a steady rate during 1940, with smaller numbers being completed in the 1941-1943 period. Regular replacement bodies were ordered in 1944 for a few cars.
Combined production of the 500K was 342 cars and 419 cars for the 540K and when the 540K Special Roadster was unveiled in 1936 it served as Mercedes-Benz's halo car, available only through special order with only 26 models built - being so exclusive they sold for $12,000 (about $187,000 today) when new. An astronomical amount following the great depression.
Although, as you might expect from a prewar German car, not all of them made it through the war, with the Allies bombing the Mercedes factories and with and the aftermath destruction of Germany through 1945, only three are reportedly known to exist today. One of these, formerly owned by Bernie Ecclestone of Formula 1 fame sold for $8.2M in 2007. It had been bought by an Englishman in 1937, who had hid it in his garage all through the war, reportedly too embarrassed to be seen driving a German car, particularly one so flamboyant. It was to prove the most ever paid for Mercedes at the time, or indeed any German car, as it represented the absolute height of the brand at the forefront of both engineering and luxury. Then another 1936 540K Special Roadster sold for $11.7M at 'Gooding & Company's' Monterey, CA auction in 2012.
With all that was lost in WWII, the 540K is pretty far down on the list of tragedies but it is still unfortunate that the era of such elegant prewar cars came to an end. They wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway, but cars like the 540K remain as a reminder of just how beautiful a car can be when form is put before function. No car will ever again be as pure a work of art as it was in the days before airbags, passive pedestrian protection and 5mph bumpers.
