1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet A

Mercedes-Benz built 419 chassis of the 540 Ks and most wore coachwork designed by Sindelfingen, the official karosserie of Daimler-Benz. It came equipped with an overhead valve, eight-cylinder engine that displaced 5,401cc, and with the help of a Roots-Type supercharger, it offered 180 horsepower at 3,400 RPM (with the blower engaged). The engine was paired with a four-speed manual gearbox and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes to provide stopping power.

Styling features of this Mercedes-Benz included its radiator set back behind the front axle. It has flowing fenders, a sloping rear deck, and a rear-set cockpit.

Dr. William Walter Birge collected his new 540 K from the factory on July 24th of 1937 and returned with it to his home in Paris. The car remained with Dr. Birge for many years, presumably until his passing in 1952. It was around that time that the Mercedes-Benz was purchased by an American collector, and was exported to Baltimore. It is believed that the car remained on the East Coast until the late 1970s. In 1980, the car was imported to Germany and into the care of Dr. Ernst Beeh of Stuttgart who kept it for 21 years. During that time, it was used in European events and rallies including the Monte Carlo, Tour des Alpes, and Bertha-Benz. Dr. Beeh drove the Mercedes-Benz 60,000 km.

Near the end of Dr. Beeh's ownership, he commissioned Rolf Wagner to do a full, body-off restoration that was carried out between 1997 and 1999. Nearly $400,000 was spent on the restoration and upon completion, it wore cream paintwork, just as it had when it originally left the factory.

The 540 K returned to the United States in 2001 via dealer and enthusiast Axel Schuette. The following year, it joined the Ray Scherr collection of Southern California. In 2007, entrusted the Mercedes-Benz specialist Scott Grundfor of Arroyo Grande, California, to prepare the 540 K for competition at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Upon completion, the car wore a black exterior with black leather hides. At the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours, the car was awarded Third in Class and the Road & Track Trophy.

In 2010, the car was sold to Tony Vincent and has been kept in top form and was exhibited at numerous shows around Southern California in the early 2010s, beginning with Best of Show accolades at the Palos Verdes Concours d'Elegance.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2022

Factory records indicate that some 419 examples of the 540K were produced between 1936 and 1939. Only 32 of this particular Sports Cabriolet A version were produced, and only 12 are known to survive. This example's bodywork left the Sindelfingen factory on April 9th of 1937. On the same day that the body was completed, it was transported to the assembly area at Unterturkheim where it was joined to the chassis. Some of the features of this car are inherent to the 540K Special Roadster, including the radiator mounted behind the front axle, extremely long fenders and the twin spare wheels mounted at the rear. These two body styles are the most sought-after of all the factory coachwork. They were among the ultimate cars that money could buy in the late 1930s. This car reigns as the fastest production road car of its era and the last supercharged model the company built until the modern era.