Posted on 08/17/2012 7:51:54 AM PDT by Daffynition
According to the T Magazine article, the 540K was purchased new by the family of the Prussian Baroness Gisela Josephine von Krieger. It accompanied the baroness when she lived in London and France, and it stayed with her when she fled the Nazis to Monaco and Switzerland.
The car also followed the baroness across the Atlantic on the Queen Mary after she moved to New York following World War II. It did not, however make it back to Europe when she returned to Switzerland in 1959.
In 1992, the Mercedes was discovered stored away in a Connecticut warehouse. It was in remarkable condition with all of the original body panels intact, but it has since been fully restored.
To break the record for a car sold at auction, Gooding will have to outdo himself: Last year, his company sold a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa for a chart-topping $16,390,000 at Pebble Beach.
Even so, Gooding's prediction may not be that far-fetched. A similar 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster broke into the top 10 most expensive cars sold at auction last year. That car went for $9,680,000 at RM Auctions' Monterey event—but that nearly eight-figure purchase price didn't buy the enchanting history that accompanies Baroness von Krieger's Benz.
(Excerpt) Read more at autoweek.com ...
When cars where machines and not electric ovens.
That is one gorgeous car.
I still like the looks of the more standard 1920s and 1930s cars better.
I need a raise.
One collector they interviewed said something like, **Picture Niagara Falls with money flowing like water. There is no amount of money and effort that high-end collectors will go to, to win a Best in Show at Pebble Beach.**
This car's provenance will make it very unique.
LOL. When my mother passed away, her stuff was in storage in huge warehouse owned by a large moving company. When we went to the warehouse to dispense with the stuff, I was amazed at the large number of incredible old cars in the warehouse covered with years of layers of dust.
I’m sure there are many *treasures* out there waiting to be *found.*
Gorgeous. Me want one. SIGH.
Eigengewicht 2350 Kg = Curb Weight 5,170 lbs. Wow.
Every Kg dripping elegance. :)
An Escalade has a curb weight of 5600 lbs. it is a big car.
Last years winner, a 1934 Voisin C-25:
Isn’t there a kit car on a corvette chassis of this car?
I built a model of that thing in my late teens. IMO, arguably one of the most beautiful cars ever made.
One can reasonably assume that the villain’s car in Captain America was based on this design. Those Nazi’s made some pretty good stuff. One of those stopped clock things, I suppose.
One of my buddies works at a local and old refinery. He told me there’s spots in the refinery where the valves have swastikas on them, being from pre-war Nazi Germany, still turning the fluids on and off.
Cars like this are not usually my cup of tea, but oh boy this is nice...
Cars then had such STYLE. Now they only go for aerodynamics. Blah. Give me an old Cord or Deusenberg.
Probably...even a kit car is sooooo far outta my league. :D
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