Everlasting Love – A story of enduring passion for a rare 1956 300Sc Cabriolet | MBCA

Article by Richard Simonds

Kent Emigh, one of the last survivors among the men who once were the overseas agents for Mercedes-Benz in the United States, spent several years searching for a 1956 300Sc Cabriolet, and now for nearly 60 years has treasured the example he found.

Everlasting Love

A story of enduring passion for a rare 1956 300Sc Cabriolet

Article and Images Richard Simonds

Kent Emigh may have been one of the first automotive enthusiasts west of the Hudson River to learn about the ultra-exclusive 300Sc two-door that Mercedes-Benz planned to make available to wealthy customers on order in 1955. After all, in 1953, Emigh was one of the first “foreign agents” authorized by Max Hoffman to sell Mercedes-Benz automobiles on his behalf through Emigh’s independent foreign-car sales business in Indianapolis.

As recounted in the January-February 2012 issue of The Star on pages 52-55, Emigh and a friend established Auto Imports Ltd. in 1952. Their business parlayed Emigh’s mechanical experience, honed growing up on the family farm about 100 miles north of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, into a business selling and servicing the British cars that were growing in popularity in the United States after World War II.

Capitalizing on their support from prominent Indianapolis families, in 1953 Emigh and his partner arranged with Hoffman to have Indiana as their territory for the Jaguars, Porsches and Mercedes-Benz automobiles that Hoffman was importing to the United States. Working on the German cars, Emigh became keenly aware of their exceptional engineering and build quality.

Passion and commitment

In 1951, Mercedes-Benz had introduced the massively luxurious 300s in limousine, coupe, cabriolet and roadster body styles. By the following year, the company based in Stuttgart launched the W194 300SL racecar around the 300S engine from the big cars. Two years later, Hoffman convinced Mercedes-Benz to offer a customer version of the racecar for the important U.S. market.

Because Auto Imports Ltd. sold and serviced the entire 300 series, Emigh had access to every model. He was particularly impressed by the 300S Cabriolet with its attractive, thickly lined soft top enhanced by landau irons (functional but decorative external hinges that held the top taut when raised). The well-made top enhanced the elegance of the model in closed form, but still allowed passengers to enjoy open-top motoring on fine days. It was even better than the comparable landau tops on the Jaguars and Rolls-Royces.

When the Sc models were introduced in 1955 to use the second-generation 3-liter engines with Bosch direct fuel injection and dry-sump lubrication that had been developed for the 300SL Coupes and endurance racecars, Emigh vowed that someday he would own a 300Sc Cabriolet. That would be easier said than done; these cars were produced in very small numbers – and only on special order.

Searching for the perfect car

Emigh said his search for a 300Sc hit a snag in 1957 when Daimler-Benz AG established Mercedes-Benz Sales in the United States and arranged to sell its cars through Studebaker-Packard dealers.

“The company canceled its importing relationship with Hoffman, ending my access to the new cars,” Emigh said. “However, I was able to visit the Mercedes-Benz factory in Stuttgart on my next trip to Europe, something that hadn’t been allowed when I worked with Hoffman. After my tour of the factory, I told my guide about my own search for a 300Sc. However, he couldn’t help me locate 300Sc owners because customer lists were confidential.”

However, 300Sc production ended in 1957, with only 47 built and with two more to be assembled in 1958. Emigh recalls “I knew it wouldn’t be easy to find the car I wanted.”

With a Munich banker friend, Geraldine Bauer, using her firm’s phones to aid his search – telephone service was still sketchy in West Germany – Emigh returned to Europe in 1958, but with no luck. It wasn’t a total loss. “I filled orders for other cars, enjoyed the Brussels World’s Fair, and flew from Paris to New York on the world’s first Pan Am Jet Clipper,” Emigh said.

Then, after a trip to Hamburg in 1959 chasing a fruitless lead, Emigh was scanning the classic-car ads in a Sunday New York Times picked up at an Indianapolis newsstand, when he saw an advertisement from a Long Island City importer for a 300Sc. “It was the Hamburg car I had been seeking and it was in New York. I caught the next plane to LaGuardia.”

When he finally saw the car, Emigh was very pleased with his find. He learned that a business firm in Hamburg – Timmerman and Braunstein – had custom-ordered the 300Sc in April 1956. “The car was in almost perfect condition,” he said. “It had mottled green leather that I had never seen on any other car and the burled walnut was carefully book-matched from left to right on the fascia.”

There was a problem with some exhaust blow-by that indicated broken piston rings, but that was easily fixed by honing the cylinders and installing larger pistons. “I think rather than breaking in the car properly, the first owner had driven it hard on the new Autobahn on its first outing,” Emigh said. “Even though I found the car in a U.S want ad, I still believe my 29,000 miles back and forth to Germany had somehow helped me find this car.”

The rest of the story

After acquiring the 1956 300Sc Cabriolet, Emigh continued operating Auto Imports Ltd. But in 1963, Mercedes-Benz North America asked Emigh to help establish the Mercedes-Benz agency in San Jose, California (now Mercedes-Benz of Stevens Creek). With wife Susan and their 6-month-old daughter Michelle, they left Indiana and traveled west on Route 66 in caravan; Susan drove their 220S, Kent drove the 300Sc and an Air Force pilot traveling cross-country brought up the rear in the family’s VW van.

Discovering that he didn’t enjoy working for someone else, Emigh built his own showroom and service facility in 1965 – Auto Sport Ltd. on El Camino Real in Palo Alto – to sell and service the great European classics. He finally closed the business in the 1990s when the city of Palo Alto decided to shut down all the auto-service shops on El Camino. Emigh reluctantly retired.

During all that time, the 300Sc Cabriolet was Emigh’s pride and joy. Though he only drove it on special occasions, he had the talent and facilities to personally maintain the 300Sc Cabriolet to as close to original as possible, a most gratifying feeling, he said. The 300Sc is a regular during the summer months at Saturday morning cars & coffee gatherings in Mountain View, only a few miles from Emigh’s home and the car’s garage in Palo Alto.

Driving the car and performing annual maintenance assures Emigh that components have not dried out, suspension lubrication has not hardened, and the car is usable at the turn of a key and push of a button. Yet its low mileage shows it has not been a daily driver, clocking just 84,129 km (52,275 miles) in the 61 years since it was assembled in Sindelfingen, Germany.

Epilogue

Snapshots in Emigh’s scrapbook with notables including Sir Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio, Luigi Chinetti, Bill Vukovich, Tony Hulman, Ernie Spitzer (founder of the Gull Wing Group) and Mel Tormé attest to the friendships he has made in a lifetime with cars.

But he’s particularly proud of his 300Sc. This totally original car confirms Emigh’s passion and commitment. It looks today much as it did when it was delivered in Hamburg on April 4, 1956. The car’s market value is hard to estimate, but it isn’t for sale. “From the time I first found this car, I have had many people tell me that they have wanted this car themselves for so many years,” Emigh said. “I’m sure that it will eventually be carefully treasured in someone else’s garage – or living room – one day. But I’m still healthy, so that may be a while!”

Specifications

1956 Mercedes-Benz 300Sc Cabriolet (W188 II)

TYPE: Two-door four-passenger cabriolet

ENGINE: M199 2,996cc, 6-cylinder fuel injected, dry-sump lubrication

TRANSMISSION: 4-speed manual with column-mounted selector

HORSEPOWER: 200 at 5,400 rpm (SAE Gross) TORQUE: 208.3 lb-ft at 4,500 rpm

LENGTH: 185 in CURB WEIGHT: 3,925 lb FUEL EFFICIENCY: 18.8 mpg

PERFORMANCE: ZERO-60 14 sec TOP SPEED: 112 mph

As soon as he first saw one in 1955, Kent Emigh vowed he would one day own a 300Sc Cabriolet. He finally found the perfect car in 1959, and owns it still.

Badges of honor: 300Sc Cabriolet carries many club insignias.

Hand-built by Mercedes-Benz in very small numbers, the 300Sc Cabriolet stood at the absolute zenith of exclusivity, luxury and power during the late 1950s.

Resplendent in deep black DB40H Nitrolacquer and matching black soft top, the 300Sc Cabriolet remains the epitome of the Sindelfingen coachbuilder’s art.