Mercedes 500K Cabriolet A

Posted on January 15, 2013 by classiccarweekly

1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Cabriolet A by Sindelfingen

Offered by Gooding & Company | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 18, 2013

1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Cabriolet A by Sindelfingen

Last week (or the week before, I’ve lost track) we featured a MB 540K. This was that car’s immediate predecessor. The 500K was introduced by Mercedes in 1934 and last until 1936. This car is brilliant in gray and black with red interior – it’s dark and menacing, just like the 1930s Germany that spawned it. It defines luxury and style of a time and place – and that was Germany in 1935.

The engine is a supercharged 5.0-liter straight eight making 160 horsepower (with the supercharger engaged). Only 342 500Ks were built, and only 33 carried Mercedes-Benz’s in-house Sindelfingen Cabriolet A coachwork and only 11 of those still survive. This car is imposing – especially with twin rear-mount spares.

This one managed to survive because it was purchased new by a Swedish Baron, who kept it at his castle. It was parked in 1948 and sold in 1950, and then it hopped from owner to owner, being restored for the first time in 1963. It remained in Sweden until 1983 when it went to a collector back in West Germany. It was expertly restored in the late 1980s and has been preserved since. The 20+ years of use give this car a patina that makes it appear to have never been restored since new, which is really cool. It is being sold from a Dutch collection and should bring between $2,500,000-$3,000,000. For more info (and gorgeous pictures), click here. And for more from Gooding, click here.

Update: Sold $2,750,000.

Here are some videos of a similar car:

Duesenberg J-310

Posted on August 28, 2012 by classiccarweekly

1935 Duesenberg Model J Sedan by Derham

Offered by Auctions America | Auburn, Indiana | August 30-September 2, 2012

Okay, one more Model J to close out Duesenberg Week. This one is still available for you to purchase, coming up for sale at Auctions America’s Auburn Fall Sale here in a few days. This car has a somewhat convoluted history and is, like many Duesenbergs, a combination, of sorts, of two separate cars.

The body, the Derham Sedan style you see here was originally attached to J-551. The owner didn’t like the new aerodynamic design updates and waterfall grille and had Duesenberg reinstall the 1929-style grille and trim bits to the car.

Sometime later, the body was removed and the engine and chassis of J-551 were used for another project. The owner of J-310 used the original body from his car (a Judkins Limousine) for a separate project as well. Well, the remnants of both J-551 and J-310 ended up in the hands of the same owner, Homer Fitterling, who mounted the Derham body you see here on J-310. So two leftovers were combined to build this car. When Fitterling reassembled it, he added the updated Duesenberg parts to the Derham body that the original owner did not care for.

This car was owned by a number of people during the 1980s and 90s and has spent the last 10 years or so in a museum, being driven on a limited basis. It is ready to be used and you will not find another one like this as the body, with the factory updates, is one-of-a-kind. Auctions America hasn’t published an estimate, but expect it to sell for north of $500,000. The complete catalog description can be found here and click here for more from Auctions America’s Fall Auburn sale.

Update: Sold $456,500.

Duesenberg JN-560

Posted on August 20, 2012 by classiccarweekly

1935 Duesenberg Model JN Convertible Coupe by Rollston (and Bohman & Schwartz)

Offered by Gooding & Company | Monterey, California | August 19, 2012

You might be saying, “Hey, the Pebble Beach sales have already concluded, why are you still featuring cars from them?” Well, that’s because there were so many great cars that I just went ahead and skipped all of the Duesenbergs (except for the one from Mecum). I figured we could feature them post-auction as there is a short lull before any other big sale. Turns out, that lull isn’t long enough because there were no less than seven of these beautiful Dueseys for sale in Monterey. So saddle up, because for the next week or so it’s nothing but Model Js.

This might be the most desirable Duesenberg of all during the Monterey weekend. The Model J was introduced in 1929 (and it was expensive) and almost immediately, the selection of people who could afford such a car dwindled rapidly. The SJ was introduced in 1932 with some more power. By 1935, Duesenberg was struggling mightily. They updated the Model J to JN specification, which was more modern looking. All had Rollston bodies and only 10 were built.

The engine remained the same 265 horsepower 6.9-liter straight-8 of the cars before it. Some things did change, like the wheels – they were smaller. The cars had sleeker bodies with skirted fenders and new taillight designs. The designs – especially this one – embraced the Art Deco look better than their predecessors.

This car was purchased new by Clark Gable. The full lot description includes the great story of him and this car, it’s worth a read but I won’t just copy it here. Originally a Rollston Convertible Coupe, Gable took the car to Bohman & Schwartz who updated it to the much more dramatic car you see here, the design being done with Gable’s input. In the late 1940s, after the death of Carole Lombard, Gable’s wife, he sold the car.

It changed hands numerous times, spending about 10 years in the Blackhawk Collection until 2006, when the current owner bought it and restored it to how you see it now – that is, how it was when Clark Gable and Carole Lombard cruised the streets of Beverly Hills with it in the 1930s. It originally had engine J-560 in it, but in the 1950s engine J-521 was installed. It currently has the 560 number on it, but could probably best be described as having bits of both.

The is one hell of a car with one hell of a history. The fact that Gooding lists the estimate as “available upon request” when they feel quite comfortable quoting prices up to $10 million for other cars, means this car is going to bring a ton of money. For the complete description (including the very narrative-like story of Gable and Lombard’s courtship), click here.

Update: Not sold.