1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Roadster For Sale!

[3113]

From here:

When Gisela von Krieger died in 1989, the legal team sorting out her estate found a car hidden in a Connecticut barn. Untouched for three decades, the vehicle was an automotive time capsule. Old maps of New York and Connecticut filled the door pockets. A woman's driving glove rested in the glove box. Pink lipstick-stained cigarette butts sat in the ashtray.

This wasn't any old car, though. It was a 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster, one of perhaps a dozen left in the world, representing the height of prewar German automotive engineering. "Every little detail was over-engineered" to create "a tour de force of technology and quality," said McKeel Hagerty, who heads a company that insures classic and rare cars.

And here it is:

Come on, you know you want it! Especially if it comes with the woman's driving glove in the glove box (who did she leave the other one with?) and the pink lipstick-stained cigarette butts in the ashtray. Ah, now here is a plot-bunny. What a story that car has to tell....

 

[EdwardMidweston]

From here:

And here it is:

Come on, you know you want it! Especially if it comes with the woman's driving glove in the glove box (who did she leave the other one with?) and the pink lipstick-stained cigarette butts in the ashtray. Ah, now here is a plot-bunny. What a story that car has to tell....

Plot-bunnies notwithstanding, I'd rather have the Ferrari Testa Rossa that Gooding & Co recently auctioned off for $16.4 million. Unfortunately, I'm a few million short. Wonder if they accept boxtops?

 

[TxRad]

I've driven the hardtop version of this car and it's a bull to drive. No power steering on this beast, Not to mention, mechanical brakes with no power assist. A four speed transmission with square cut gears and a clutch made for a truck driver.

No petite dainty lady drove that car. Affording one was out of most peoples reach for one thing and manhandling it was something else again because that is what you had to do at slow speeds. At higher speeds it was very very good for its time.

Interesting idea and contradictions galore.

 

[NoCorrelation]

Oh, thank god - for a moment, I thought you meant one of the 80s Testarossas. As a kid I wanted one of those so desperately. Finally saw one as an adult and realised just how huge and horrific they were.

That one Gooding sold is just pure porn.

That Merc is gorgeous too. I adore the look of pre-war motors. Those curves are more feminine than any modern car I can think of right now. Nearest i can get is the Holden Efigy, and they refused to make it.

 

[3113]

No petite dainty lady drove that car. Affording one was out of most peoples reach for one thing and manhandling it was something else again because that is what you had to do at slow speeds. At higher speeds it was very very good for its time.

Driving glove aside, I suspect she had many a man to "manhandle" it for her while she rested back in the passenger seat, her crimped hair (protected by a silk scarf) fluttering in the wind.

 

[EdwardMidweston]

Oh, thank god - for a moment, I thought you meant one of the 80s Testarossas. As a kid I wanted one of those so desperately. Finally saw one as an adult and realised just how huge and horrific they were.

Yep, the size, weight, and "cheese graters" all made theTestarossa (one word version) less than Ferrari's most stellar creation. On the plus side, however, at least it wasn't a 308.

 

[estragon]

Lovely. Now if anyone has a 1935 Duesenberg SJ coupe they want to get rid of....

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Or a '31 Packard Touring car?

 

[Boxlicker101]

Driving glove aside, I suspect she had many a man to "manhandle" it for her while she rested back in the passenger seat, her crimped hair (protected by a silk scarf) fluttering in the wind.

More likely, she had a chauffeur driving her, and that glove was sort of an invitation to him to come and join her after they got cleaned up from the ride.

Now, THAT's a plot bunny.

 

[Handley_Page]

Lovely. Now if anyone has a 1935 Duesenberg SJ coupe they want to get rid of....

Or a '31 Packard Touring car?

Oh come on, guys, lets talk about Real cars huh ?
The Dusenberg is OK, I guess, but the Packard?
My Dad had a car like that and I did not like it.

Me?. I think I'd prefer the gull-wing Merc. . . . .

 

[estragon]

"Me?. I think I'd prefer the gull-wing Merc. . . . ." Handley Page.

Handley, I wouldn't say no.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Well, if you insist on new-fangled . . .

Give me a Jaguar XK150 with the gold head!

 

[estragon]

VM, if you had an XK150 in mint condition, you could get all the head you'd ever want.

 

[R. Richard]

Okay, for those who can afford multi-milions for an old Mercedes or a Duesenberg, look up the Continental Mark II at maybe $30,000 to $50,000 for a good condition example.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Mark_II

 

[3113]

Oh come on, guys, lets talk about Real cars huh ?
The Dusenberg is OK, I guess, but the Packard?
My Dad had a car like that and I did not like it.

Handley, Handley, Handley.... It's not about the car, it's about the story that comes with the car.

This is one doozy of a story. A baroness, Nazis, her Jewish London lover, a car shipped around the world....

Other cars may handle better, give one a cool ride, but other cars don't usually come with this kind of story....

 

[TheeGoatPig]

I know someone that restores cars like this. This one would be right up his alley if it was a wreck that needed fixing up.

 

[Handley_Page]

Handley, Handley, Handley.... It's not about the car, it's about the story that comes with the car.

This is one doozy of a story. A baroness, Nazis, her Jewish London lover, a car shipped around the world....

Other cars may handle better, give one a cool ride, but other cars don't usually come with this kind of story....

Oh don't get me wrong; the inspiration is a pure doozy.

But an XK150 (or even the older 120 model) is a real car with pizazz.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

When I was at the university, Riverside Raceway, of sainted memory, was just down the freeway. It was, in its day, as noted a marque as Nurburgring or Monaco. And sprinkled around the city were car dealers specializing in sports cars. Of course, as a young bear working my way through college, even a battered Volkswagen was beyond me but I used to drool and be brought nearly to tears by the sight of an entire lot of Jags from the late '50's and early 60's. They were just used cars back then . . .

 

[TxRad]

When I was at the university, Riverside Raceway, of sainted memory, was just down the freeway. It was, in its day, as noted a marque as Nurburgring or Monaco. And sprinkled around the city were car dealers specializing in sports cars. Of course, as a young bear working my way through college, even a battered Volkswagen was beyond me but I used to drool and be brought nearly to tears by the sight of an entire lot of Jags from the late '50's and early 60's. They were just used cars back then . . .

Bear, you do bring back good memories. I raced many times at Riverside and nearly cried when they turned it into a shopping Mall.

I raced several different models of Porsche, the 904 and the older bathtub models. Never did a jag there but I loved hustling a 4200 pound stock car around that track. It was scary fast if you had the right setup. I don't know if it was comparable to Nurburgring or Monaco though. Watkins Glen, yeah, but not old Riverside. It was more a bare knuckles track.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Ah, yes. Those were the days . . .

SCCA and a view of the Box Springs Mountains on a clear day in the winter. Temperature in the low '80's, pretty girls in tight tee shirts . . . sigh . . .

 

[TE999]

OMFG, a 540Ks! I'd give my back teeth to own that beauty. That, my friends, is a car. Yeah, it's a snorting, strong willed beast, but in the right hands it purrs like a kitten and goes like stink. I mean, what's not to like? A supercharged straight 8 motor, 5 speed synchromesh stick shift, 180 horses, 110 MPH top speed, leather seats, the wind in your hair, a busty blonde Fraulein at your side, zooming down the Autobahn sweeping lesser vehicles from your path ... Heraus dem weg, schwinehunds!! Arrh, arrrh, ARRRHH!

Whoops ... heh ... forgot myself there ... it's a cool car anyways.

 

[EdwardMidweston]

Handley, Handley, Handley.... It's not about the car, it's about the story that comes with the car.

This is one doozy of a story. A baroness, Nazis, her Jewish London lover, a car shipped around the world....

Other cars may handle better, give one a cool ride, but other cars don't usually come with this kind of story....

You'd probably like the very true and well-documented story about the 1920s era Hispano-Suiza touring car that Erich Maria Remarque drove to the Swiss border with the Gestapo in hot pursuit back in Holocaust days. Road & Track magazine did a feature article on it a couple decades ago.
I think the article has been archived.

Apparently the car was spectacular in its day but it's day was gone even by 1940. Remarque
had some wild adventures but he escaped in the end.

 

[3113]

OMFG, a 540Ks! I'd give my back teeth to own that beauty. That, my friends, is a car. Yeah, it's a snorting, strong willed beast, but in the right hands it purrs like a kitten and goes like stink. I mean, what's not to like? A supercharged straight 8 motor, 5 speed synchromesh stick shift, 180 horses, 110 MPH top speed, leather seats, the wind in your hair, a busty blonde Fraulein at your side, zooming down the Autobahn sweeping lesser vehicles from your path ... Heraus dem weg, schwinehunds!! Arrh, arrrh, ARRRHH!

Whoops ... heh ... forgot myself there ... it's a cool car anyways.

See. Now that's the sort of enthusiasm I expect for this car--and it's story!

 

[JackLuis]

Well, if you insist on new-fangled . . .

Give me a Jaguar XK150 with the gold head!

I had a '58 XK-150 fixed head, marvelous car from 5 mph to at least 120 mph, indicated. It had two 6 volt batteries in series for 12 volts. When the SU's were tuned, you could push the starter button and, bang, it was running. Sweet!
Eleven inch Lockheed disc brakes, that would really work on the light body.

But my favorite car was a 1997 Honda Prelude. Better handling than the XK and never needed tinkering, plus 28 mpg.

 

[TxRad]

My favorite sports car was actually an early Mazda pickup. It was the first time i ever saw a rotary engine with a four barrel carburetor.

Lowing it three inches made it handle better than the Mazda sedan of the day.