1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K at the Portland Art Museum

Portland Art Museum

The Cars

The Cars Vehicles

1930 Bentley Speed Six

1931 Duesenberg Model SJ

1933 Pierce Arrow Silver Arrow

1937 Bugatti Type 57S

1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K

1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B

1938 Hispano Suiza H6C

1939 Talbot-Lago T150 C SS

1948 Tucker 48

1953 Porsche 550

1954 Plymouth Explorer Concept

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR

1957 Jaguar XKSS

1959 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Racer

1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato

1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Competition

Information on the 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K

More photographs of the 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K

The parent company of Mercedes-Benz, Daimler-Benz, was Germany's leading producer of luxury cars and heavy trucks prior to World War II. They enjoyed much success in Grand Prix and sports car competition thanks, in part, to Mercede's advanced technology including supercharging, fully independent suspension, light-alloy metallurgy, and overhead camshafts.

Mercedes-Benz began producing a line of large and fast grand touring cars beginning in 1932. The 540K model was offered from 1936 to 1938 and was the design work of Hermann Ahrens and built to order by Karrosserie Sindelfingen (a Mercedes-Benz in-house coach building subsidiary). The Special Roadster, with its towering grille and sweeping scallop-edged fenders, featured an arrogantly long hood with a low windscreen and a very tight cabin. There was an elegant, flowing, tapered tail and a price tag that was equally extreme as the car.

There were around 400 examples of the 540K produced and only twenty-six were Special Roadsters. These are considered the pinnacle of German pre-war automotive design. They were virtually hand-built with an exceptionally high construction quality. Inside, there was a mother-of-pearl instrument panel, rich leather seating, and twin spotlights that flanked a swept-back windshield. The enclosed versions of the 540Ks could cruise at 100 mph on Germany's high-speed Autobahns. The lighter Special Roadster could top 115 mph. Despite its fully independent suspension, the 540K is a smooth-riding grand tourer and not a sports car.

This example was restored by Chris Charlton in Oxford, Maine. In 2004, it won its class at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The car is powered by a 330 cubic-inch, 16-valve supercharged overhead valve V-8 engine. It produces 180 horsepower and is mated to a 4-speed manual with pre-select for third and fourth gears.

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