Mercedes-Benz 500 K Cabriolet C (1935)

If Thor, the god of thunder, had owned a car, it would have been a supercharged Mercedes! 

A kind of work of art – that’s how the poets and composers, the film directors and photographers saw it in the 1930s – and of course the Mercedes star sparkled everywhere: on the fuel filler cap, on the wheels, on the steering wheel and twice at the front on the radiator grille.

This vehicle was built in 1934. He received his chassis and technology at the Mercedes plant in Sindelfingen, as a very rare right-hand drive, as confirmed by the Mercedes certificate.
The certificate reads "Cabriolet B", which is easy to explain. Mercedes supplied the rolling chassis including technology, but without the body; The substructures of Cabriolet B and C were identical, so Mercedes could not know whether a B or C Cabriolet was being built. Therefore no entry in the certificate at Mercedes in terms of upholstery and special equipment.
The vehicle identification number (VIN) and engine number is 113 631, the order number at that time was 202 346. The body was made in England by the renowned bodybuilder "Windovers" in London and the vehicle was thus completed.
So Capt. Fletcher was happy about his new one-off in May 1935.

A total of about 340 vehicles were built of the 500K in all body variants, of which only 70 were special bodies, the rest of them got the usual Sindelfinger body.
Winders London only built three Mercedes-Benz 500K as Cabriolet C. Two of the vehicles were completely free in terms of design and more in the direction of a special roadster from the lines and then they built this one, the design based on the Sindelfinger body.

The car still has the original body and the original engine with 3-speed + overdrive gearbox (matching numbers), and this vehicle can still be referred to as delivery condition. The vehicle currently only has 2 vehicle owners. Over 70 years with the Fletcher family in England with the initial registration number BXW 316 and then a holder in Germany. The Classic Data report certifies this with a grade of 1-. Of course, the Mercedes 500 K has German registration papers and is ready for immediate use. In the client's order.

Rarely has the task of replacing a dream car with an adequate successor been solved so convincingly: in the years 1926-1934, the unspoilt and vigorous S and SS models had won trophies and victories on all racetracks around the world. Here 500K came in just right: powerful like its predecessors, but much more elegant and handy.
The 500 K no longer came onto the market as a racing sports car, but as an elegant luxury sports car for the beautiful and powerful in this world.
Most buyers opted for the Sindelfingen factory body, although it was also possible to only purchase the chassis and have the body made by a well-known body construction company. 

Historical background:
Externally, the 500K and 540K differ only in details. The technical developments are well hidden among the many different body styles that were offered. Above all, the displacement increased from 5.0 liters for the 500K to 5.4 liters for the 540K.

Two attributes of the 500 K and its successor 540K sometimes cause confusion: the externally visible exhaust pipes clad with metal hoses and the letter “K” in the type designation. Of course, the impressive exhaust pipes of the 500K and 540K should remind the public of the supercharged sports cars, but technically there is no connection between the compressor and the exhaust pipe routing. And the “K”? – In the type language of Mercedes-Benz, it initially stands for the abbreviation “short wheelbase”, such as the SSK. It was only in 1934, with the 500K, that the “K” appeared as an abbreviation for “compressor”. In the client’s order.Errors and changes excepted.