Description
This car is Lot 127 to be auctioned by Bonhams|Cars at The Paris Sale on Friday January 30th, please see the Bonhams website for full details. Public Viewing: Available January 27th from 09:00 until 18:00, January 28th from 09:00 until 18:00, January 29th from 09:00 until 18:00, and January 30th from 09:00 at Polo de Paris. Lot 127 Offered from Les Belles Endormies - The Pierre Strinati Collection 1934 Mercedes-Benz 500K (Type W29) Coupé Chassis no. U105. 394 Auction Estimate €1500000 - 2500000 Engine block serial no. 102401. 59 Vanvooren body no. 2933 One-off, matching numbers One of only 18 W29 coupés built One of only a handful of W29 built with French coachwork Delivered new to Paris, France Present ownership since 1959 Formerly on display in the Musée de l'Automobile Jean Tua, Geneva Outstandingly original Sensation of the 1934 Berlin Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz's legendary pre-war 500K supercar cost a small fortune when new and today commands a king's ransom, such is its rarity. The 1930s decade was a period of unprecedented fertility in motor car styling, of which the sublime 500K represented the very pinnacle of excellence. Its timeless appeal endures to this day (the original name of the model, 'Typ 500 mit Kompressor', was later shortened to '500K'). Beneath its seemingly endless bonnet, the 500K's eight-cylinder engine developed 100bhp un-supercharged or 160bhp with the compressor engaged. The car had a top speed approaching 110mph (177km/ h). After testing a 500K cabriolet in 1936, The Autocar declared: "This is a master car, for the very few. The sheer insolence of its great power affords an experience on its own." The Mercedes-Benz 500K and its successor, the 540K, are among the most iconic models of the classic era. A total of 761 chassis of the two W29 modelsthe 500K and 540Kwere produced at the Stuttgart-Untertürkheim plant between February 1934 and November 1939: 342 with a 5-litre engine and 419 with a 5. 4-litre engine. Of these, 691 units were fitted with bodies by the "Sonderwagenbau" department at the Sindelfingen plant, while only 70 chassis were delivered to external coachbuilders for bodywork. The most popular model was the Cabriolet B, with 296 units produced, while the exclusive and dignified Special Roadster achieved a total production run of around 50 units. The various coupé variants amounted to only 12 cars, and just 6 examples of the Autobahn Kurier were built. The chassis of the 500K and 540K had a wheelbase of 3, 290 mm and was available in two versions. In addition to the standard configuration, there was a variant in which the radiator, engine-gearbox unit, steering gear and seats were moved rearwards by just over 10 cm. Roadsters, Special Roadsters, Cabriolet A and Autobahn Kurier models were built on this rearward-engine chassis, while all other body variants were constructed on the standard chassis. According to Mercedes-Benz Classic in Stuttgart, the delivery of chassis no. U105. 394 to the Paris branch was recorded in the commission book on 29 November 1934, shortly after the model's first presentation at the Paris Salon in October. Unfortunately, there is no mention of either the customer or the coachbuilder. (According to a letter from DaimlerChrysler Schweiz AG dated 27 November 2006, this carchassis number "U105394"was delivered new to Germany; this information has since been proven to be incorrect.) The number 102401. 59 stamped on the engine block provides the following information: 10 for the Untertürkheim plant 24 for the new M24 engine type 01 for the series 59 for the 59th engine of the first series This corresponds with the total production of 105 units in 1934 and, together with the original engine plate no. U105. 394, confirms that this car is matching numbers. Although sales opportunities for Mercedes-Benz on the French market were limited by exorbitant import duties of 45%, the company maintained a showroom on the Champs-Élysées and regularly exhibited its latest models at the Paris Salon in October. Internal documents from the Mercedes-Benz board of directors show that attendance at the Salon was considered a "must" in order to present the brand to international customers. One way to partially circumvent import duties was to deliver bare chassisa strategy that proved successful, as the 500K/ 540K chassis attracted the interest of the most prestigious coachbuilders of the time. This particular example features a fixed-head coupé body by Vanvooren, one of the most renowned and successful French luxury-car coachbuilders of the 1930s. Carrosserie Vanvooren, based in Courbevoie in north-west Paris, bodied the majority of Hispano-Suiza chassis during this period and also designed and built numerous bodies for Bugatti, Delage, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Packard and Cadillac. These automotive gems are among the most exclusive one-off creations and can be found today in the world's most prestigious collections. As confirmed during a thorough inspection by...
