Sold without reserve to benefit the Cancer and Alzheimer's Charities of Sweden 1934 Mercedes-Benz 500 K/540 K (factory upgrade) Spezial Roadster Chassis no. 105136 Engine no. 105136
Sold for €3,105,000 inc. premium
Lot 16
1934 Mercedes-Benz 500 K/540 K (factory upgrade) Spezial Roadster
Sold without reserve to benefit the Cancer and Alzheimer's Charities of Sweden
1934 Mercedes-Benz 500 K/540 K (factory upgrade) Spezial Roadster
Chassis no. 105136
Engine no. 105136
1934 Mercedes-Benz 500 K/540 K (factory upgrade) Spezial Roadster
Chassis no. 105136
Engine no. 105136
Cancerfonden Sweden
Stefan Bergh, Secretary-General of the Swedish Cancer Society -
"This generous donation will help us get closer to achieving our vision of conquering cancer. The proceeds from the sale of this rare vehicle will benefit all those affected by cancer by contributing to the funding of important scientific research."
"The Swedish Cancer Society annually funds approximately 450 research projects", Mr. Bergh continued. "To do this, we are entirely dependent on the generosity of private donors. We are very grateful for their support, as their gifts enable much of the ground-breaking work being done by Swedish scientists every day."
Alzheimerfonden Sweden
Liselotte Jansson, Secretary-General of The Swedish Alzheimer Foundation -
"We are utterly grateful for this generous donation which will help us reach our goal of finding a cure for Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common form of dementia and so far a deadly disease that nobody survives. Dementia is today classified as a common disease and the number of people suffering from it is expected to double every 20 years. Intensified research in this area is therefore crucial in order to find a cure.
The Swedish Alzheimer foundation is a small but rapidly growing foundation, and the largest contributor to Alzheimer's research in Sweden. The donation will enable us to support new innovative research and coming one step closer to our vision of a world free from dementia."
The Mercedes-Benz 500 K
The sensation of the 1934 Berlin Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz's legendary 500K supercar was the creation of the gifted engineer and former racing driver Dr Hans Nibel. Designs upon which he had worked ranged from the 1909 200hp Blitzen Benz to the 1934 Mercedes-Benz W25, the first of the legendary 'Silver Arrow' racing cars, created after Dr Nibel had taken sole charge of engineering at the amalgamated Mercedes-Benz empire after the departure of Prof Dr Ferdinand Porsche at the end of 1928.
What set Nibel's supercharged Mercedes apart from the big blown Mercedes of the previous decade was the model's advanced chassis design, which combined swing axles at the rear with a new and very effective form of independent front suspension with superimposed triangular wishbones and coil springs. Sadly, Hans Nibel died in November 1934 at the tragically early age of 54 and the development of the subsequent supercharged Mercedes models devolved upon Max Sailer.
Nibel had created the 500 K to give more power and performance than his 380 of 1932. With its mighty 5-litre engine, the 500K was one of the very few cars of the 1930s capable of achieving 100 mph on the open road. Like the 'S' series of the 1920s, the 'K' models employed a form of supercharging that was peculiarly Mercedes, with the supercharger being used as a top-end booster. Pushing the gas pedal to the floor engaged the train of gears that drove the Roots-type blower, unleashing 25 per cent more power and a banshee shriek. It was an impressive and unnerving performance used as a short-term expedient for brief bursts of overtaking or hillclimbing.
Contemporary road testers spoke with awe of the ride of the all-independent Mercedes - "even a severe deflection is not felt and on normal road surfaces the riding is mostly level and steady" - and the car could be cornered "very fast indeed".
'Without the supercharger this is a quiet, docile carriage, the acceleration from low speeds being then quite mild. It will amble around town and along by-ways with scarcely a hint of its latent performance. Bring in the supercharger and it becomes another machine, with fierce acceleration,' declared H. S. Linfield, Road Test editor of The Autocar, after driving a 500K, which he summarised as "a master car for the very few; the sheer insolence of its great power affords an experience on its own".
It was apparent that few drivers of the 1930s were capable of handling such potency so the marque's English importer, Mercedes-Benz GB, retained racing driver Count Geoffredo Zehender as technical adviser and demonstration driver.
The manufacturing record of the 500 K reveals its exclusive nature: no more than 105 were produced in 1934, 190 in 1935 and 59 in 1936. In recent times the rarity, style and performance of these big supercharged Mercedes have made them – upon the few occasions they have come onto the open market - some of the most sought-after of all classic cars. They were the zenith of car manufacturing of their era, by the acknowledged finest-quality manufacturer of the day.
Although the 500 K/540 K chassis attracted the attention of many of the better quality bespoke coachbuilders of the day, Mercedes-Benz's own Sindelfingen coachwork left little room for improvement and it can safely be argued that their own top of the range sports tourer, boldly and appropriately named the Spezial Roadster eclipsed all of its peers.
As with all of the finest automobiles of the 1930s and earlier, coachwork tended to be a collaboration between manufacturer and individual customer and even though Mercedes offered a specific coachwork designation there does seem to have been an element of personal tailoring involved. This car represents just one such example.
105136
The tale of this car's discovery begins in the most humblest of origins. In the early 1970s, two car 'sleuths', the now well-known Alf Johansson (whose legendary finds include the Horn Brothers' Spezial Roadster and the lesser known Birger J. Nilssen, decided upon a foray into Czechoslovakia to see if they could find historic cars. Nilssen had recently gained a 'scrap metal' license and while he had yet to get into his stride one thing he had obtained was a fuel cap for a Mercedes-Benz 500 K. On their first journey, when transiting through Poland, they stopped off at a garage in Poznan, and as was their routine enquired whether the garagist knew of any old cars locally. The man said that a colleague actually had something along those lines, but he wasn't too sure of the details. The garagist further explained that the right person wasn't around at the moment, perhaps they might visit him on their return...
So they continued on their journey, stopping off to see various known collectors and cars all the while gaining a greater appetite for old vehicles Re-tracing their steps on the way home, they returned to Poznan and to the address that the garage owner had given them. They met a kind family, who were very hospitable and gave them some tea and cake, before escorting them to their sheds where the old car lay.
Nilssen l ater recounted that what they would find turned an incredibly cold winter's day red hot, for there in the tin buildings was this 500 K Spezial Roadster carefully dismantled and awaiting restoration. From Johansson and Nilssen's quick assessment the car was incredibly complete, albeit missing its fuel cap, which in an ironic and amusing coincidence was precisely what Birger had.
An agreeable deal was quickly struck between the willing sellers and the sleuths and with Johansson's connections they were able to export the car officially through the right channels back to their native Scandinavian origins. Shortly after, it passed to the former owner.
While they knew in the most basic terms what they had acquired, it took further research from the acknowledged authority on the 8-cylinder 'Kompressor ' cars Jan Melin, also of Scandinavian origin, being from Sweden, to discover the exact history of '105136' now offered here.
Jan Melin spent years researching the pre-war eight-cylinder supercharged Mercedes-Benz cars, culminating in the publication of an exhaustive and factual series of books on the topic. Taken from an unusually studious perspective, his interest was and has continued to be in documenting this era of production by the world's first and finest car manufacturer, rather than recording information for personal commercial gain. Because of the nature of his work, he was trusted and allowed almost 'carte blanche' access to the Mercedes-Benz archives. Ever keen to document these cars definitively, he used his initiative to trace people who had worked at Mercedes in the 1930s, none more important than Hermann Ahrens, who had been the chief of design at the factory's Sindelfingen coachbuilding arm.
All of this information helped greatly in documenting the history of '105136' Melin could prove key parts of its history and build from factory information, and was able to confirm definitively that the car was one of the earliest 500 Ks to have been built and that it had originally been commissioned for Dr. Alfons Sack of Berlin. A prominent and gifted lawyer, in the early 1930s Sack would gain his own place in history when he represented the perpetrators accused of the Reichstag fire, in 1934
This superb car, '105136' was the sixth production 500 K to have been built and is so early in the production sequence that its build sheet denotes the order to have been changed from a 380 to the latest 500 K model. It was a car that was so distinctive in its design that it instantly resonated with Ahrens, who produced photos of the car as new that he had personally retained. From these and the Sindelfingen notes on its construction and colouring, it was and is possible to appreciate that the car as built was something quite out of the ordinary and that, while the coachbuilder's order states the iconic terminology of 'Spezial Roadster' it was almost certainly – in fact - a one-off variation of this theme.
Details which were specific to the Spezial Roadster ordered by Sack were its chrome 'flashes' along the sides of the front and rear wings, an extended grille piece which curved forward as it reached its base and filled-in the front valance between the chassis dumb irons (a feature commonly referred to - for obvious reasons - as a 'waterfall' grille), and chrome covers for the rear-mounted spare wheels which accented the body. If this was not sufficient statement, the colour choices heightened its design, these being listed as 'Speedgray' for the body with dark and light-green accents. Viewing photos of the car as delivered suggests that the colour differentiation may have been for the rear wheel spats and side versus top of the car. Without doubt, as new it would have been stunning.
Later Melin was able to add to its history when he found a photo of a corresponding car's tail I n a newspaper while traveling in America. Immediately he realised that he was looking at the rear view of '105136' and was therefore able to confirm it to have been Berlin registered "IA 1555" in period. Very neatly these were the exact same plates that had been discovered by Nilssen with the car in Poznan and they remain with the car today in unrestored and untouched order confirming their authenticity and that of the Mercedes itself.
As found by Nilssen, the car was said by its owners to have suffered a minor accident at its rear and then to have been laid up. The location of this find and its relative close proximity to Landsberg where Sack is known to have had a country house, suggests that it may well have been in his care when this had occurred Sack himself is not believed to have survived the war.
As the restoration began this minor accident damage was self evident and more than likely accounted for the loss of the fuel cap, which may have snapped off the fuel tank during the incident. However, this and some light damage to the right rear wing amounted to the car's most significant scars
Through correspondence with Melin, any questions that were raised were answered or explained logically and succinctly. As found the car had a 540 K engine and later vented bonnet sides as opposed to the early louvred style which was shown in the Sindelfingen photos. Melin found correspondence between Sack and Mercedes in 1936 showing that the car had returned to the factory to be upgraded to the latest larger 540 K engine and accordingly, no doubt, it had received 540 K bonnet sides at this time. Interestingly enough, although the 540 engine is different from that of the 500 K in terms of size and location of its water pump, this replacement power unit was stamped with the existing number of the engine it replaced and the unit retains factory engine plaque '105136'
The documentary information that Jan Melin was able to supply - including copies of factory and coachbuilder records, as well as photos of the car's original discovery - accompany the car today. It should be noted that all information supplied by Melin was confidential and intended only for the then owner.
Overall the combination of knowledgeable enthusiasts and fastidious research actually made for a straightforward restoration, although naturally it took considerable time to return the car to its original glory.
Throughout the process it was documented with many photographs, and specific details such as small pieces of wood or fabrics that were replaced were matched and then retained with the car, such that it is still possible to see the colour of the original leather and hood cover from these surviving remnants. On close inspection today, it is evident that the restoration was conducted to a exactingly sympathetic level of originality a nd where the finish of the upper surfaces of the metal is very fine, underneath and in unexposed areas it is easy to see its authenticity. Amazingly, it even still possesses such details as its original Sindelfingen body plaque, carefully restored and replated, and the waterfall grille that accompanies the car is the very one which was discovered upon it in Poznan.
The work was finally finished in the early 1990s. After its completion the car was run in the early days, until it was placed on display in a private museum facility where it has remained until recent months
After more than 40 years of his ownership, his exhaustive research and the thoughtfully carried out rebuild, its private owner generously has considered what benefit this Mercedes-Benz Spezial Roadster may represent to others, and he has – in consequence - donated it to the Swedish Cancer and Alzheimer's Charities to provide funding for their medical research...
Arguably the most special and coveted of all Mercedes-Benz production, Spezial Roadsters rarely appear at auction.
In the case of this particular car there has never before been the public opportunity to purchase it.
It offers the purchaser many possibilities, the option to present an unseen car at the host of high-profile Concours d'Elegance across the globe where it will no doubt garner keen interest, perhaps a return to its original livery and presentation may appeal, or even simply to enjoy it privately for its sheer and individual beauty as it has been in previous hands.
In any event, its presentation here for sale by auction represents a gesture with very few precedents in the collector's car world, certainly at this elevated value level. It is the former owner's fervent wish that this sale may further Swedish and world insights into finding cures for two of the most prevalent and pernicious health threats of our time.
Bonhams is honoured to have been entrusted with this unique sale.
Stefan Bergh, Secretary-General of the Swedish Cancer Society -
"This generous donation will help us get closer to achieving our vision of conquering cancer. The proceeds from the sale of this rare vehicle will benefit all those affected by cancer by contributing to the funding of important scientific research."
"The Swedish Cancer Society annually funds approximately 450 research projects", Mr. Bergh continued. "To do this, we are entirely dependent on the generosity of private donors. We are very grateful for their support, as their gifts enable much of the ground-breaking work being done by Swedish scientists every day."
Alzheimerfonden Sweden
Liselotte Jansson, Secretary-General of The Swedish Alzheimer Foundation -
"We are utterly grateful for this generous donation which will help us reach our goal of finding a cure for Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common form of dementia and so far a deadly disease that nobody survives. Dementia is today classified as a common disease and the number of people suffering from it is expected to double every 20 years. Intensified research in this area is therefore crucial in order to find a cure.
The Swedish Alzheimer foundation is a small but rapidly growing foundation, and the largest contributor to Alzheimer's research in Sweden. The donation will enable us to support new innovative research and coming one step closer to our vision of a world free from dementia."
The Mercedes-Benz 500 K
The sensation of the 1934 Berlin Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz's legendary 500K supercar was the creation of the gifted engineer and former racing driver Dr Hans Nibel. Designs upon which he had worked ranged from the 1909 200hp Blitzen Benz to the 1934 Mercedes-Benz W25, the first of the legendary 'Silver Arrow' racing cars, created after Dr Nibel had taken sole charge of engineering at the amalgamated Mercedes-Benz empire after the departure of Prof Dr Ferdinand Porsche at the end of 1928.
What set Nibel's supercharged Mercedes apart from the big blown Mercedes of the previous decade was the model's advanced chassis design, which combined swing axles at the rear with a new and very effective form of independent front suspension with superimposed triangular wishbones and coil springs. Sadly, Hans Nibel died in November 1934 at the tragically early age of 54 and the development of the subsequent supercharged Mercedes models devolved upon Max Sailer.
Nibel had created the 500 K to give more power and performance than his 380 of 1932. With its mighty 5-litre engine, the 500K was one of the very few cars of the 1930s capable of achieving 100 mph on the open road. Like the 'S' series of the 1920s, the 'K' models employed a form of supercharging that was peculiarly Mercedes, with the supercharger being used as a top-end booster. Pushing the gas pedal to the floor engaged the train of gears that drove the Roots-type blower, unleashing 25 per cent more power and a banshee shriek. It was an impressive and unnerving performance used as a short-term expedient for brief bursts of overtaking or hillclimbing.
Contemporary road testers spoke with awe of the ride of the all-independent Mercedes - "even a severe deflection is not felt and on normal road surfaces the riding is mostly level and steady" - and the car could be cornered "very fast indeed".
'Without the supercharger this is a quiet, docile carriage, the acceleration from low speeds being then quite mild. It will amble around town and along by-ways with scarcely a hint of its latent performance. Bring in the supercharger and it becomes another machine, with fierce acceleration,' declared H. S. Linfield, Road Test editor of The Autocar, after driving a 500K, which he summarised as "a master car for the very few; the sheer insolence of its great power affords an experience on its own".
It was apparent that few drivers of the 1930s were capable of handling such potency so the marque's English importer, Mercedes-Benz GB, retained racing driver Count Geoffredo Zehender as technical adviser and demonstration driver.
The manufacturing record of the 500 K reveals its exclusive nature: no more than 105 were produced in 1934, 190 in 1935 and 59 in 1936. In recent times the rarity, style and performance of these big supercharged Mercedes have made them – upon the few occasions they have come onto the open market - some of the most sought-after of all classic cars. They were the zenith of car manufacturing of their era, by the acknowledged finest-quality manufacturer of the day.
Although the 500 K/540 K chassis attracted the attention of many of the better quality bespoke coachbuilders of the day, Mercedes-Benz's own Sindelfingen coachwork left little room for improvement and it can safely be argued that their own top of the range sports tourer, boldly and appropriately named the Spezial Roadster eclipsed all of its peers.
As with all of the finest automobiles of the 1930s and earlier, coachwork tended to be a collaboration between manufacturer and individual customer and even though Mercedes offered a specific coachwork designation there does seem to have been an element of personal tailoring involved. This car represents just one such example.
105136
The tale of this car's discovery begins in the most humblest of origins. In the early 1970s, two car 'sleuths', the now well-known Alf Johansson (whose legendary finds include the Horn Brothers' Spezial Roadster and the lesser known Birger J. Nilssen, decided upon a foray into Czechoslovakia to see if they could find historic cars. Nilssen had recently gained a 'scrap metal' license and while he had yet to get into his stride one thing he had obtained was a fuel cap for a Mercedes-Benz 500 K. On their first journey, when transiting through Poland, they stopped off at a garage in Poznan, and as was their routine enquired whether the garagist knew of any old cars locally. The man said that a colleague actually had something along those lines, but he wasn't too sure of the details. The garagist further explained that the right person wasn't around at the moment, perhaps they might visit him on their return...
So they continued on their journey, stopping off to see various known collectors and cars all the while gaining a greater appetite for old vehicles Re-tracing their steps on the way home, they returned to Poznan and to the address that the garage owner had given them. They met a kind family, who were very hospitable and gave them some tea and cake, before escorting them to their sheds where the old car lay.
Nilssen l ater recounted that what they would find turned an incredibly cold winter's day red hot, for there in the tin buildings was this 500 K Spezial Roadster carefully dismantled and awaiting restoration. From Johansson and Nilssen's quick assessment the car was incredibly complete, albeit missing its fuel cap, which in an ironic and amusing coincidence was precisely what Birger had.
An agreeable deal was quickly struck between the willing sellers and the sleuths and with Johansson's connections they were able to export the car officially through the right channels back to their native Scandinavian origins. Shortly after, it passed to the former owner.
While they knew in the most basic terms what they had acquired, it took further research from the acknowledged authority on the 8-cylinder 'Kompressor ' cars Jan Melin, also of Scandinavian origin, being from Sweden, to discover the exact history of '105136' now offered here.
Jan Melin spent years researching the pre-war eight-cylinder supercharged Mercedes-Benz cars, culminating in the publication of an exhaustive and factual series of books on the topic. Taken from an unusually studious perspective, his interest was and has continued to be in documenting this era of production by the world's first and finest car manufacturer, rather than recording information for personal commercial gain. Because of the nature of his work, he was trusted and allowed almost 'carte blanche' access to the Mercedes-Benz archives. Ever keen to document these cars definitively, he used his initiative to trace people who had worked at Mercedes in the 1930s, none more important than Hermann Ahrens, who had been the chief of design at the factory's Sindelfingen coachbuilding arm.
All of this information helped greatly in documenting the history of '105136' Melin could prove key parts of its history and build from factory information, and was able to confirm definitively that the car was one of the earliest 500 Ks to have been built and that it had originally been commissioned for Dr. Alfons Sack of Berlin. A prominent and gifted lawyer, in the early 1930s Sack would gain his own place in history when he represented the perpetrators accused of the Reichstag fire, in 1934
This superb car, '105136' was the sixth production 500 K to have been built and is so early in the production sequence that its build sheet denotes the order to have been changed from a 380 to the latest 500 K model. It was a car that was so distinctive in its design that it instantly resonated with Ahrens, who produced photos of the car as new that he had personally retained. From these and the Sindelfingen notes on its construction and colouring, it was and is possible to appreciate that the car as built was something quite out of the ordinary and that, while the coachbuilder's order states the iconic terminology of 'Spezial Roadster' it was almost certainly – in fact - a one-off variation of this theme.
Details which were specific to the Spezial Roadster ordered by Sack were its chrome 'flashes' along the sides of the front and rear wings, an extended grille piece which curved forward as it reached its base and filled-in the front valance between the chassis dumb irons (a feature commonly referred to - for obvious reasons - as a 'waterfall' grille), and chrome covers for the rear-mounted spare wheels which accented the body. If this was not sufficient statement, the colour choices heightened its design, these being listed as 'Speedgray' for the body with dark and light-green accents. Viewing photos of the car as delivered suggests that the colour differentiation may have been for the rear wheel spats and side versus top of the car. Without doubt, as new it would have been stunning.
Later Melin was able to add to its history when he found a photo of a corresponding car's tail I n a newspaper while traveling in America. Immediately he realised that he was looking at the rear view of '105136' and was therefore able to confirm it to have been Berlin registered "IA 1555" in period. Very neatly these were the exact same plates that had been discovered by Nilssen with the car in Poznan and they remain with the car today in unrestored and untouched order confirming their authenticity and that of the Mercedes itself.
As found by Nilssen, the car was said by its owners to have suffered a minor accident at its rear and then to have been laid up. The location of this find and its relative close proximity to Landsberg where Sack is known to have had a country house, suggests that it may well have been in his care when this had occurred Sack himself is not believed to have survived the war.
As the restoration began this minor accident damage was self evident and more than likely accounted for the loss of the fuel cap, which may have snapped off the fuel tank during the incident. However, this and some light damage to the right rear wing amounted to the car's most significant scars
Through correspondence with Melin, any questions that were raised were answered or explained logically and succinctly. As found the car had a 540 K engine and later vented bonnet sides as opposed to the early louvred style which was shown in the Sindelfingen photos. Melin found correspondence between Sack and Mercedes in 1936 showing that the car had returned to the factory to be upgraded to the latest larger 540 K engine and accordingly, no doubt, it had received 540 K bonnet sides at this time. Interestingly enough, although the 540 engine is different from that of the 500 K in terms of size and location of its water pump, this replacement power unit was stamped with the existing number of the engine it replaced and the unit retains factory engine plaque '105136'
The documentary information that Jan Melin was able to supply - including copies of factory and coachbuilder records, as well as photos of the car's original discovery - accompany the car today. It should be noted that all information supplied by Melin was confidential and intended only for the then owner.
Overall the combination of knowledgeable enthusiasts and fastidious research actually made for a straightforward restoration, although naturally it took considerable time to return the car to its original glory.
Throughout the process it was documented with many photographs, and specific details such as small pieces of wood or fabrics that were replaced were matched and then retained with the car, such that it is still possible to see the colour of the original leather and hood cover from these surviving remnants. On close inspection today, it is evident that the restoration was conducted to a exactingly sympathetic level of originality a nd where the finish of the upper surfaces of the metal is very fine, underneath and in unexposed areas it is easy to see its authenticity. Amazingly, it even still possesses such details as its original Sindelfingen body plaque, carefully restored and replated, and the waterfall grille that accompanies the car is the very one which was discovered upon it in Poznan.
The work was finally finished in the early 1990s. After its completion the car was run in the early days, until it was placed on display in a private museum facility where it has remained until recent months
After more than 40 years of his ownership, his exhaustive research and the thoughtfully carried out rebuild, its private owner generously has considered what benefit this Mercedes-Benz Spezial Roadster may represent to others, and he has – in consequence - donated it to the Swedish Cancer and Alzheimer's Charities to provide funding for their medical research...
Arguably the most special and coveted of all Mercedes-Benz production, Spezial Roadsters rarely appear at auction.
In the case of this particular car there has never before been the public opportunity to purchase it.
It offers the purchaser many possibilities, the option to present an unseen car at the host of high-profile Concours d'Elegance across the globe where it will no doubt garner keen interest, perhaps a return to its original livery and presentation may appeal, or even simply to enjoy it privately for its sheer and individual beauty as it has been in previous hands.
In any event, its presentation here for sale by auction represents a gesture with very few precedents in the collector's car world, certainly at this elevated value level. It is the former owner's fervent wish that this sale may further Swedish and world insights into finding cures for two of the most prevalent and pernicious health threats of our time.
Bonhams is honoured to have been entrusted with this unique sale.
Footnotes
Dieses Los wird meistbietend zugunsten der Schwedischen Krebs- und
Alzheimer Forschungs-Gesellschaft verkauft,
1934 Mercedes-Benz 500 K/540 K (Werksseitige Umrüstung) Spezial Roadster
Chassis Nummer 105136
Motor Nummer 105136
Krebsfond Schweden
Stefan Bergh, General-Sekretär der Schwedischen Krebsforschung Gesellschaft
"Diese großartige Spende kann uns sehr dabei helfen unserem Ziel, den Krebs zu besiegen, ein gutes Stück näher zu kommen. Der Erlös des Verkaufs dieses sehr seltenen Fahrzeugs ermöglicht uns die finanziellen Mittel zur Krebsforschung bereitzustellen, die notwendig sind um im Bereich dieser Forschung weitere positive Ergebnisse zu erzielen".
"Die Schwedische Krebsforschung Gesellschaft unterstützt jährlich mehr als 450 Projekte". Mr. Bergh erläutert weiter: "Um dieses weiterzuführen, sind wir weiterhin auf unabhängige und private Spender angewiesen". Wir sind sehr dankbar für diese großartige Unterstützung, denn durch diese Spenden sind wir weiterhin in der Lage Grundlagen-Forschung zu betreiben und die Schwedischen Wissenschaftler bei der täglichen Arbeit zu unterstützen".
Alzheimerfond Schweden
Liselotte Jansson, General-Sekretärin der Schwedischen Alzheimer Stiftung
"Wir sind überaus dankbar für eine solch großartige und großzügige Schenkung, die es uns ermöglicht einen Weg zur Heilung der Alzheimer Krankheit zu finden. Sie ist die meist verbreitete Form von Demenz, vor der sich zurzeit niemand schützen kann und die bisher leider immer tödlich endet.
Demenz ist heute als eine Gesamtgesellschaftliche Krankheit anzusehen und deren Zahlen an festgestellten Erkrankungen hat sich in den letzten 20 Jahren mehr als verdoppelt. Intensivste Forschung in diesem Bereich ermöglicht die Aussicht auf Heilungschancen.
Die Schwedische Alzheimer Stiftung ist eine kleine aber stetig und schnell wachsende
Stiftung, die schon einen längeren Zeitraum über Alzheimer in Schweden forscht.
Diese Schenkung führt uns in der Alzheimer Forschung einen Schritt weiter auf unser Ziel hin – Eine Welt ohne Alzheimer".
Der Mercedes-Benz 500 K
Der Mercedes-Benz 500 K war die Sensation auf der Berliner Automobil Ausstellung 1934. Er war eine Entwicklung des begabten Ingenieurs und Rennfahrers Dr. Hans Nibel. Dr. Nibel arbeitete bereits 1909 bei Benz am "200 PS Blitzen – Benz" wie auch später bei Mercedes-Benz bis 1934, am legendären ersten Silberpfeil - W25. Er begann nach dem Zusammenschluss beider Firmen und nach der Zeit von Prof. Dr. h.c. Ferdinand Porsche, 1928, als Chefentwickler.
Bei der Überarbeitung dieses Kompressors betriebenen Mercedes-Benz entwickelte Dr. Nibel, gegenüber der vorangegangen Kompressor-Mercedes-Benz, ein verbessertes Fahrwerk. Er kombinierte die hintere Pendelachse mit Doppel-Schraubenfedern und mit einer zusätzlichen Ausgleichsfeder, und vorne ließ er die Räder an Doppelquerlenkern mit Schraubenfedern anbringen. Bedauerlicher Weise starb Dr. Hans Nibel im November 1934, im Alter von 54 Jahren. Als Chefentwickler übernahm Max Sailer die Arbeit an den späteren Kompressor-Mercedes-Benz Modellen.
Nibel entwickelte für den 500 K aus dem hubraumstärkeren Motor, gegenüber dem Typ 380 von 1932, mehr Leistung und erreichte dadurch eine verbesserte Performance.
Dieser gewaltige Reihen 8-Zylinder mit 5,0 Liter Hubraum ermöglichte Anfang der 1930er Jahre dem 500K als eines der ersten Automobile eine Höchstgeschwindigkeit von 100 mph oder 160 km/h auf normalen Straßen.
Es war der charakteristische Sound des zugeschalteten zweiflügeligen Roots-Gebläses für die "K" Modelle, ähnlich der der "S" Modelle aus den 1920er Jahren, nachdem man das Gaspedal einmal ganz durchgetreten hat. Dabei wird mehr als 25 % zusätzliche Leistung abgegeben. Dies ist eine eindrucksvolle und hörbare Leistungssteigerung, die nur für einen sehr kurzen Zeitraum genutzt werden kann, z. B bei einem Überholvorgang oder während einer Bergfahrt.
Zeitgenössische Automobiltester sprechen unabhängig voneinander ehrfurchtsvoll von der Fahrt mit diesem Mercedes-Benz. "Auf normalen Straßen erschrecken die Passanten, wenn man diesen Wagen mit aufheulendem Motor bewegt, daher ist es ratsam, sich eher einen gesitteten Fahrstil anzugewöhnen, obwohl dieses Automobil auch um Kurven fahren kann – und zwar sehr schnell".
" Ohne den Kompressor ist bei einer Beschleunigung aus dem unteren Geschwindigkeitsbereich heraus auch ein entspanntes Fahren möglich. Man merkt einfach, dass immer genügend Leistung vorhanden ist. Wenn der Kompressor einsetzt, dann verändert sich der Motor zu einem wilden Monstrum". So beschreibt der Testfahrer und Redakteur von "The Autocar" H.S. Linfield die Fahrt mit dem 500 K. Zusammengefasst und auf den Punkt gebracht zieht er folgendes Resümee: "Mercedes-Benz ist mit diesem Fahrzeug ein wahres Meisterstück von einem Automobil gelungen, welches man unbedingt erlebt haben muss."
Das zeigt sich auch daran, dass Mercedes-Benz GB, der Importeur der Marke den Rennfahrer Graf Goffredo Zehender als Fahrer ihrer Vorführfahrzeuge engagiert hat. Es war offenbar in den 1930 er Jahren nicht so einfach einen Fahrer zu finden, der dieses außergewöhnliche Fahrzeug beherrscht und fahren konnte.
Die Produktionszahlen des 500K sprechen für seine Exklusivität: 105 Exemplare wurden im Jahr 1934 produziert, 190 in 1935 und 59 in 1936. Eine Gesamtzahl von 354 Fahrzeugen. In den letzten Jahren machten die Seltenheit, der Stil und die Leistung dieses großen Kompressor-Mercedes, bei den wenigen Anlässen bei denen er am Markt angeboten wurde, zu einem der begehrtesten Oldtimer dieser Epoche.
Obwohl der 500 K/540 K die Aufmerksamkeit der weltweit herausragendsten Karossiers seiner Zeit auf sich zog, ließ der firmeneigene Karosseriebau in Sindelfingen wenig Raum für Verbesserung. Man kann beruhigt davon sprechen, dass dieser offene Sports Tourer, mit dem Zusatz Spezial Roadster, das Maß aller Dinge in dieser Epoche darstellt und die Blicke auf sich zieht.
Alle besonderen Luxus-Automobile der 1930er Jahre oder früher hatten das Problem der Zusammenarbeit mit den Automobil-Herstellern. Es musste sehr genau abgestimmt werden, wie die aufzubauende Karosserie auf das Fahrgestell passt. Somit mussten im Werk jeweils in den Karosserieabteilungen Spezialisten für solche Projekt gefunden werden. Dieses hier angebotene Fahrzeug symbolisiert die Leistung der werkseigenen Karosserieabteilung.
Fahrgestell-Nr. 105136
Die Geschichte dieses Fahrzeugs und dessen Entdeckung, beginnt wie in vielen anderen Fällen auch, in den frühen 1970er Jahren in einem sehr bescheidenen Rahmen. Die beiden inzwischen bekannten und anerkannte "Spürnasen" Alf Johansson (der unter anderem den legendären "Horn Brüder" Spezial Roadster gefunden hat) und Birger J. Nilssen entschieden sich zu einer Reise nach Czechoslowakien um nach historisch wertvollen Fahrzeugen Ausschau zu halten. Nilssen hatte erst kurz vorher ein Stückchen "Altmetall" gefunden. Dabei stellte es sich heraus, dass das ein Tankverschluss eines Mercedes-Benz 500 K sein musste. Auf ihrer ersten Reise durch Polen, stoppten sie an einer Garage in Posen. Nilssen fragte in der für ihn schon routinemäßigen Art nach altenFahrzeugen in der Region. Der Garagist sprach von einem Kollegen, der so etwas altes auf seinem Grundstück stehen hätte. Dieser wäre aber gerade nicht da, aber der richtige Ansprechpartner. Nilssen fuhr auf der Heimreise noch einmal vorbei.
So führte sie ihre Reise weiter fort und sie stoppten bei unterschiedlichsten Sammlern und Automobilen. Dabei bekamen sie immer mehr Interesse an alten Fahrzeugen. Sie fuhren auf der Heimreise nochmals in Posen zu der ihnen angegeben Adresse, die ihnen der Mann in der Werkstatt gegeben hatte. Sie trafen eine sehr nette und gastfreundliche Familie, die sie zuerst zu einem Tee und Gebäck einluden, bevor sie zu einem Grundstück fuhren, auf dem ein altes Automobil stand.
Nilssen erzählte später, dass sie an einem extrem kalten Wintertag dort ein Fahrzeug fein säuberlich zerlegt in einer Wellblech-Garage vorfanden. Es sah so aus, als ob der 500 K für eine Restaurierung vorbereit dastand. Johansson und Nilssen überblickten in dieser Situation recht schnell, dass das Fahrzeug fast vollständig und komplett war. Ein Teil fehlte aber, der Tankverschluss. Welch ironisches und amüsantes Zusammentreffen, sagte Birger später.
Sie wurden sich recht schnell einig mit der Familie und die "Spürnasen" konnten dank Johansson's Verbindungen das Fahrzeug offiziell exportieren. Auf dem richtigen Weg zurück zu seinem skandinavischen Ursprung. So fand das Fahrzeug sehr bald zurück zu seinem Erstbesitzer.
Weil sie sich in dieser Zeit sehr viel Basisinformationen angeeignet haben, konnten sie einen weiteren Spezialisten im Bereich 8-Zylinder Kompressor Motoren ausfindig machen, Jan Melin. Dadurch erhielt dieses Fahrzeug seine originale, schwedische Historie zurück und kann so unter der Bezeichnung "105136" hier angeboten werden.
Jan Melin forschte viele Jahre nach der Geschichte der Vorkriegs Mercedes-Benz 8-Zylinder Kompressor-Motor Modelle. Sein Wissen brachte er dann in einer Reihe Bücher allen Interessierten näher. Die sich dadurch auszeichnen, dass er unheimlich viel Zeit und Wissen in die Dokumentation des Produktionszeitraums und die damit verbundenen vielfältigen Karosseriebaubetriebe und anderen Hersteller hochklassiger Automobile investierte. Eine Vielzahl von Personen, die sich für diese Historie interessierten, profitierte von diesem Werk. Er erarbeitete sich damit auch eine Vertrauensbasis und tauschte sein Wissen mit dem Mercedes-Benz Werksarchiv aus. Dadurch konnten viele ehemalige Mercedes Mitarbeiter der 1930er Jahre ausfindig gemacht werden. So bekam er auch Kontakt zu Hermann Ahrens, der Chefdesigner im Karosseriewerk Sindelfingen war.
All dieses Wissen war hilfreich für die Dokumentation dieses besonderen Fahrzeuges mit der Chassis Nummer "105136". Einen wichtigen Teil der Werksinformationen trugen dazu bei, dass er zu der Feststellung kommt, dieser 500 K ist einer der ersten und wurde im Auftrag für Dr. Alfons Sack, Berlin gefertigt. Er war ein prominenter und begabter Rechtsanwalt in den frühen 1930 er Jahren. Er erwarb sich seinen Platz in der Geschichte als der Verteidiger derjenigen auftrat, die angeblich im Reichstag Feuer gelegt haben sollen.
Nachweislich ist dieses besondere Fahrzeug mit der Nummer "105136" das sechste in der Serienproduktion hergestellte Fahrzeug gewesen. Er war so weit vorne in der Produktion das anhand von einigen Details der Übergang vom Typ 380 zum späteren 500 K noch nachzuvollziehen ist. Es ist ein Fahrzeug, welches in seinem Design so besonders ist, dass Ahrens sich sofort an die Ausführungen erinnerte und dies mit Fotos belegen konnte, die er während der Produktion aufgenommen und privat in seinem "Archiv" behalten hatte.
Mit diesen Informationen und den Aufzeichnungen des Sindelfingener Werks waren die Rekonstruktion und die Farbgebung für dieses Exemplar möglich. Dabei ist ersichtlich wie außergewöhnlich dieses Fahrzeug bereits bei seiner Produktion schon gewesen sein muss. Da bereits im Auftragsbuch der Karosserieabteilung der Begriff "Spezial Roadster" vermerkt ist, kann für dieses Fahrzeug tatsächlich diese Variation von Terminus genutzt werden.
Wichtige Details die der Spezifikation des von Dr. Sack bestellten Spezial Roadsters entsprechen, sind zum Beispiel: Chromzierleisten an den vorderen und hinteren Kotflügeln, ein nach vorne ausgerichtetes und vergrößertes Kühlergrillgitter, welches durch sein äußeres Erscheinungsbild den Beinamen "Wasserfall-Grill" erhalten hat. Chromhaube über den hinteren Ersatzrädern, die wiederum das Heck besonders betont. Diese besonderen Merkmale des Fahrzeuges sind noch nicht genug Alleinstellungsmerkmal. Die Lackierung und die Farbwahl ergänzen es im Besonderen. Eine in "Speedgrau" lackierte Karosserie mit hellen und dunklen Akzentuierungen vervollständigen es zu einer Skulptur auf vier Rädern. Bevor es zur Auslieferung des Fahrzeugs kam, wurden Zeichnungen mit unterschiedlichen farblichen Differenzierungen im Bereich der hinteren Radhausabdeckungen und im seitlichen Bereich als Gegensatz zum Verdeck angefertigt. Dieses Design muss damals und würde sicherlich auch heute überwältigen.
Zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt konnte Melin während einer Reise in den USA, anhand eines Fotos in einer Zeitschrift einen weiteren Baustein dem Gesamtwerk "105136" hinzufügen. Er war sich sofort sicher, als er ein Foto betrachtete, das er auf die Heckansicht dieses besonderen 500K schaute. Das Fahrzeug war zu seiner Zeit in Berlin unter der Nummer "IA 1555" registriert.
Er erkannte die Nummernschilder sofort als die die auch am Fahrzeug angebracht waren, welches Nilssen in Posen ausfindig gemacht hatte. Diese verbleiben bei diesem unrestaurierten und unberührten Fahrzeug. Die von Mercedes-Benz bestätigte Authenzität ist ein weiterer Pluspunkt.
Bei all den Nachforschungen von Nilssen, stellte er fest, dass einer der Besitzer einen sehr geringfügigen Blechschaden im Heckbereich des Fahrzeugs zu verzeichnen hatte und ihn danach zur Seite stellte. Der Ort an dem das Fahrzeug von Johansson und Nilssen gefunden wurde, liegt in unmittelbarer Nähe von Landsberg, wo Sack ein Landhaus besaß. Es deutet also vieles darauf hin, dass Sack sich zu diesem Zeitpunkt bereits in Sicherheit gebracht hatte. Es ist nicht überliefert, ob Dr. Sack den Krieg überlebt hat.
Bei der Rückgabe des Kraftstoff-Tankdeckels erörterte man, dass sich der Verlust während des Vorfalls ereignete. Wie auch immer, der kleine Blechschaden am hinteren rechten Kotflügel beeinträchtigt die sehr signifikante Gesamtansicht des Fahrzeugs nicht.
Durch die Korrespondenz mit Melin, konnten auch weitergehende Fragen von ihm logisch und prägnant erklärt werden. Im Fahrzeug verbaut ist der 540 K Motor, die erst später verwendete Motorhaube mit seitlichen Lüftungsschlitzen ist entgegengesetzt des früheren Erscheinungsbildes auf den Sindelfingener Fotos. Melin fand einen Briefverkehr zwischen Dr. Sack und Mercedes-Benz aus dem Jahr 1936, aus dem hervorgeht, dass das Fahrzeug zurück ins Werk Sindelfingen kam, um die Umrüstung auf den Motor mit 5,4 Liter Hubraum durchzuführen. Dementsprechend hat er zweifelsfrei auch die Motorhaube mit den seitlichen Lüftungsschlitzen erhalten. Obwohl der 540 K Motor in seinen Ausmaßen, der Positionierung der Wasserpumpe gegenüber dem 500 K Motor Unterschiede aufweist, ist anlässlich der Aufrüstung der nachgerüstete Motor auf der werksseitig angebrachten Motorenplakette mit der vorhandenen Nummer "105136"gekennzeichnet worden.
Anhand der Dokumentation, die von Jan Melin erstellt wurde, bekommen sie eine umfangreiche Sammlung von Kopien der Werks- und Karosseriebauzeichnungen und Fotos des Fahrzeugs bei der ursprünglichen Entdeckung und aussagefähige Fotos im heutigen Zustand. Es wird darauf hingewiesen, dass alle Informationen von Melin geliefert werden und nur für den Käufer zur Verfügung stehen und damit vertraulich umzugehen ist.
Weltweit sind das Verständnis und das Interesse von Enthusiasten an einer anspruchsvollen aber gleichzeitig auch ehrlichen Restaurierung von Fahrzeugen gestiegen. Es wurde hierbei natürlich eine Menge Zeit aufgewendet, um das Fahrzeug in seiner ehemaligen und originalen Erscheinung darzustellen.
Der gesamte Prozess ist mit Fotografien und spezifischen Details dokumentiert. Ob es sich dabei um ein Stück Holz oder eine Gewebeprobe des Teppichs handelt. Wenn etwas ausgetauscht werden musste, dann nur, wenn es identisch war und den Zustand des Fahrzeugs bewahrte. Dabei ist es möglich, dass sie die Farbe des original Leders oder der Cabrioverdeck- Persenning als Überrest sehen.
Bei einer heutigen Begutachtung, ist es von Bedeutung, dass die Restaurierung die Originalität anhand eines exakten und sympathischen Levels darstellt. Anhand der Oberflächenprüfung kann festgestellt werden wie die darunterliegende Metalloberfläche beschaffen ist und bei entsprechenden Lichtverhältnissen ist die Authentizität ersichtlich.
Ebenso ist es erstaunlich, wie viel originale Details diese Zeit überlebt haben. Ein Beispiel dafür ist die original Sindelfingener Karosserie Plakette. Sorgsam restauriert und aufpoliert. Zu dem Fahrzeug gehörig ist auch der in Posen gefundene "Wasserfall-Grill"
Den Arbeitsprozess der Restaurierung konnten sie in den frühen 1990er Jahren beenden. Nach der Komplettierung des Fahrzeugs fuhr das Fahrzeug wie am ersten Tag. Für einige Monate stand es in einem Display eines privaten Museums.
Nach mehr als 40 Jahren in einem Besitz wird das Fahrzeug bei dieser Auktion im Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart angeboten. Die zu dieser Zeit begonnene erschöpfende Nachforschungen stehen in direktem Zusammenhang mit diesem Automobil und begründen seine Wiederherstellung. Ein privater großzügiger Käufer kann sich jetzt diesen Mercedes-Benz Spezial Roadster in seine Sammlung holen und bei der einen oder anderen Veranstaltung präsentieren. Davon profitiert in letzter Konsequenz die Forschungsprojekte und deren Unterstützung durch die Schwedische Krebs- und Alzheimer-Forschung-Gesellschaft.
Somit wird hier der seltenste und begehrenswerteste Mercedes-Benz Spezial-Roadster in dieser Auktion hier angeboten.
Es bestand bisher noch nie die Möglichkeit, zu solchen Konditionen und unter solchen Umständen ein solch außergewöhnliches Automobil zu ersteigern.
Derjenige der dieses Fahrzeug ersteigert kann mit dem Kauf eine noch nie dagewesene Geste zeigen und unterstützt sehr relevante Gesundheits-und Forschungs Projekte. Der bisherige Eigner wünscht nichts sehnlicher al seine hohe Summe für den guten Zweck.
Bonhams hat hiermit die ehrenvolle Aufgabe übertragen bekommen, dieses einmalige Angebot während einer Auktion zu versteigern.
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Philip Kantor
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