Description
THE MERCEDES-BENZ 500K
The sensation of the 1934 Berlin Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz's legendary pre-war 500K supercar cost a small fortune when new and today demands a king's ransom, so rare. The decade of the 1930s was a period of unprecedented fertility in automotive styling, with the sublime 500K representing the pinnacle of excellence. Its timeless appeal continues to this day.
The 500K, which had an ingenious swing-axle independent rear suspension layout, was created by Hans Nibel who, starting with Benz in the early years of the 20th century, succeeded Marius Barbarou as chief engineer in 1904 and designed (and raced) the enormous Benz cars of that period, culminating in the 200 hp 'Blitzen' Benz. After the merger with Mercedes, he replaced Ferdinand Porsche and created the most advanced chassis of their time for road and track, including the first of the 'Silver Arrow' racers. The supercharged road-going Mercedes of the 1930s are a wonderful tribute to his engineering skills.
Together with its successor the 540K, the beautiful Mercedes-Benz 500K was perhaps the most remarkable production model that the Stuttgart company offered in the 1930s. The 500K was powered by a 5.018cc supercharged eight-cylinder engine with the company's famous Roots-type supercharger system, where pressing the accelerator pedal to the end of its travel would simultaneously engage the compressor and shut off the carburetor's alternate naturally aspirated intake. This system had been thoroughly proven on the previous series of Porsche-designed S-Type cars, and in fact the 500/540K was the last supercharged production Mercedes until relatively recent times.
Under its seemingly endless hood, the 500K's eight-cylinder inline engine developed 100 hp without supercharged or 160 hp with the compressor engaged. The gearbox was a four-speed gearbox with overdrive top ratio. With the supercharger engaged, the 500K had a top speed of almost 110 mph (177 km/h) matched by servo-assisted hydraulic braking. The performance potential was such that Mercedes-Benz in the United Kingdom retained driver Goffredo 'Freddy' Zehender as technical advisor and demonstration driver, as the supercharged Mercedes was one of the few true 100 mph road cars available in the 1930s.
The production record of the 500K reveals its exclusive character: 105 were produced in 1934, 190 in 1935 and 59 in 1936. In recent years, the rarity, style and performance of these large supercharged Mercedes have made them one of the most sought after of all classic cars made on the few occasions they have hit the open market. After testing a 500K in 1936, De Autocar stated: 'This is a master car, for the very few. The sheer brazenness of his great power offers an experience in itself.
