Speed with Style

This magnificent 1934 Mercedes-Benz 500K Spezial Roadster – upgraded to full 540K specification in 1936 – cuts a wide swath

Article & Images Mark Elias

Walking among the automobiles on display at the Ocean Reef Club’s Vintage Weekend this past December in Key Largo, Florida, we didn’t expect to see a multimillion dollar prewar Mercedes-Benz on display. But then, this particular 1934 Mercedes-Benz 500K Spezial Roadster with its factory-installed 540K supercharged engine had a history of being found in unlikely places.

Over the top … and then some

In the mid-1930s, luxury motorcars were typically bespoke for special affairs; the Spezial Roadster we saw in Key Largo was no exception. Though cars of its ilk were typically hand built by coachbuilders such as Saoutchik, Figoni et Falaschi and Walter M. Murphy on chassis and running gear supplied by the major companies, Mercedes-Benz was different. For its top-of-the-line automobiles, the bodywork was crafted at its flagship coachworks shop in the company’s Sindelfingen factory.

This stunning automobile was special-ordered by Dr. Alfons Sack, a prosperous and influential German attorney, who upgraded his previous order for a 380 to the brand-new 500K. Historians might remember him as having successfully defended Communist Party leader Ernst Torgler for his alleged involvement in the Reichstag fire of 1933, the flashpoint that Chancellor Adolf Hitler used to convince the government to institute martial law. Though Sack would later become an active member of the National Socialist Party, he was, at the time, considered to be apolitical and was apparently well paid for his work.

This car, chassis No. 105136, was the sixth 500K off the assembly line. The chrome flashes along the fenders and running boards and other design modifications would have been specified by Sack, making it a true one-off. In U.S. dollars, the price tag in 1934 of more than $10,000 (approximately $180,000 today), would have been an almost astronomical price in the economic turbulence Germany was experiencing at that time. It’s not surprising that there were fewer than 360 500Ks built during the model’s three-year production run.

The Mercedes-Benz 500K

The sensation of the 1934 Berlin Auto Show, the 500K was created by engineer and racing driver Hans Nibel, whose career spanned the era from 1909’s famous Blitzen Benz to the 1934 Mercedes-Benz W25 – the first of the legendary Silver Arrows.

The 500K utilized the same chassis geometry found on the previous Type 380 models of 1933 and 1934. Designed to be a grand touring machine for the newly developed Autobahn intercity highway system, the body rested on an independent front suspension with coil springs and wishbones and independent rear suspension with swinging half axles and coil springs. As one of the most innovative suspensions of the time, it provided significantly smoother cruising than its predecessors.

Power came from a Kompressor-equipped (supercharged) straight 8-cylinder that was bored and stroked to 5,018cc, giving it the “500” designation in the Mercedes-Benz catalog. According to company documentation, it was rated at 37 horsepower for tax purposes, but the actual number was probably more like 100 non-supercharged horsepower.

When more power was needed – perhaps for overtaking or competing in a hill-climb event – all the driver had to do was floor the accelerator pedal, thereby awakening the Roots-type supercharger. At that instant, according to reviewers of the day, the engine would howl like a horde of banshees had been released, while producing up to 160 horsepower. The machine’s top speed was officially rated at 98 mph, but test results of the day pegged the 500K’s  actual performance at a remarkable 100.56 mph, though getting to the first 60 mph required a rather glacial 16.5 seconds.

Please sir … can I have some more?

Sometimes, too much is not enough. For those fortunate buyers like Sack, there was an overwhelming desire for more power, more oomph … just more, more, more. Apparently, Mercedes-Benz engineers felt the same way and developed the colossal 5,401cc 540K, at more cost and with more power than most drivers of the period were capable of acquiring, much less operating. Truly the era’s halo car for Mercedes-Benz, the 540K’s mythic reputation helped maintain the marque’s reputation until production resumed once again after the devastation of World War II.

Almost as soon as Mercedes-Benz announced the beginning of production of the 540K, Sack sent his automobile back to the Sindelfingen factory to have the newer, larger, more powerful engine installed. The new engine was given the same serial number as the previous engine, linked to the chassis number. The final iteration of the Sack Spezial Roadster was born.

By the numbers, the new 5.4-liter engine generated a lusty peak of 180 horsepower when the accelerator was stomped flat to the floor, and did so while consuming approximately 9.6 miles per gallon at full roar. Terminal velocity was achieved at 105 mph. It was truly miles ahead of most of its competitors of the time, as they soon discovered to their chagrin during official and informal road races.

A Cinderella story

The beautiful red machine seen on these pages is now under the careful stewardship of Mercedes-Benz Club of America member Howard Fafard. A real estate developer based in Boston, Massachusetts, and on Florida’s Treasure Coast, Fafard has owned the former Sack Spezial Roadster since purchasing it at the Bonhams Stuttgart Mercedes-Benz Sale in 2014. With proceeds of the sale benefiting the Cancer and Alzheimer’s Charities of Sweden Center, the final selling price was $3.3 million, including premium.

Now resplendent in a red hue that would nicely complement a fire engine and with enough chrome to keep a plating service busy for a month or two, it wasn’t always as well-sorted as when we found it at Ocean Reef Club’s concours event. In fact, the car was found in pieces in a shed in the 1970s by legendary old-car whisperers Alf Johansson and Birger J. Nilssen, who were touring through Poland in pursuit of hidden automotive treasures. Carrying an old gas cap from a Mercedes 500K for luck, they would typically stop at local auto repair shops asking if the workers knew of any old cars worthy of a go-see. A mechanic in the town of Poznan near the German border knew of a colleague with an old Mercedes-Benz: He warned the pair of sleuths the machine was in pieces in boxes.

Treasure in a shed

Directed to the building in question, Johansson and Nilssen indeed discovered what turned out to be a Mercedes 500K Spezial Roadster that had been carefully disassembled with all its components – but with 540K bonnet sides – and missing only … yes, you guessed it, a gas cap. The Spezial Roadster designation signified this automobile was clearly a bespoke model. In addition to the chrome flashes running the length of the wings, a waterfall grille and chrome covers for the rear-mounted spare tires, the extraordinary convertible still had its original Speed Gray finish with dark- and light-green accents. The old machine even still had Berlin-registered license plates from the prewar period.

The family in possession of chassis No. 105136 told the sleuthing pair that the car had been in an accident near Poznan and had then remained there after the war. As the vehicle was restored, evidence of the long-ago shunt presented itself, and did much to explain the missing gas cap that may have snapped off upon impact. Johansson and Nilssen purchased the car and arranged to have the boxes shipped to their shop in Sweden.

On the road again

Only after extensive research by Swedish historian Jan Melin – research that included Mercedes-Benz archives as well as interviews with Hermann Ahrens, chief designer at Sindelfingen at the time, who remembered the distinctive car – was this 500K’s complete history uncovered. Documentation now in Fafard’s possession includes Melin’s reports, complete factory build sheets and a letter that details Sack’s intention to have the 540K engine installed at Sindelfingen. The fact that Sacks had a country home in Landsberg ams Lech, between Berlin and Poznan, suggested to Melin that the car may have been in Sack’s possession when it was originally damaged.

The combination of extensive research and experience of the restorers made for a straightforward restoration, including the repaint to an equally original but more impressive shade of red. However, the care needed to maintain the car’s originality took considerable time; the restoration was completed in the early 1990s, when the owner drove it briefly then placed it on display in a private museum. There it remained until being donated to the Swedish charity, sold by Bonhams and finally transported to Fafard’s garage, from which it was driven the day we discovered it in Key Largo.

Though we can attest to the lovely quiet sound of the engine and the car’s smooth ride while cruising in front of our camera at sedate speeds that suited its privileged dowager status, we still wish we could just once hear the shriek of the banshees which so captivated period reviewers.

Hand built in very small numbers – and replete with power, grace and sporting style – the 500K and 540K models reigned supreme at the pinnacle of the prewar Mercedes-Benz automobile range. Dr. Alfons Sack, a prosperous and influential German attorney, ordered the unique Spezial Roadster seen here.

The 500K and 540K were both rare machines, built in very small numbers for a wealthy clientele. This red 500K/540K Spezial Raodster is marked out by chrome flashes running the length of the wings, a waterfall grille and chrome covers for the rear-mounted spare tires, as well as many small detail flourishes.

The Spezial Roadster’s snug interior wraps occupants in an opulent blend of cream leather and chrome, accented by an elegant mother-of-pearl instrument surround and dominated by the imposing black and chrome steering wheel. The car’s current custodian, Howard Fafard, enjoys the view down the long hood.

From its powerful 5,401cc straight 8-cylinder engine with its imposing flexible chrome exhausts and mighty Roots-type supercharger to its double-stacked spare tires, delightful chrome body details and dashing rumble seat,  the 1934 Spezial Roadster exudes a purposeful style, whether at rest or on the move.

SPECIFICATIONS

1934 Mercedes-Benz 500/540K Spezial Roadster

TYPE: Two-door, two-passenger soft-top roadster

ENGINE: 5,401cc supercharged I-8

HORSEPOWER: 180 at 3400 rpm

(Original engine: 5,018cc supercharged I-8, 160 horsepower)

TRANSMISSION: 4-speed manual

DIMENSIONS: Length: 222.4 in   Width: 70.2 in

Height: 65.0 in   Wheelbase: 144.5 in

CURB WEIGHT: 5,236 lb

PERFORMANCE: Zero-60 mph 16.5 sec   TOP SPEED: 105 mph