The 540K was one of the first supercars to prove that huge speed and mega luxury were not mutually exclusive. You can add flawless quality to the recipe as well. Just look at how the soft-top fits the windshield for evidence of Mercedes’ core excellence.

The 540K Sport Cabriolet was the finest car on the high-speed autobahns of Germany when it debuted. It is the natural predecessor to the SL-Class Roadsters, and established the long-hood sports-car proportions of GT supercars. This was the car for movie stars, playboys and bon vivants of all stripes.

No small legacy, then, for this stunning example set for sale in Arizona by RM Auctions.

1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Sport Cabriolet A by Sindelfingen

RM Auctions

Arizona

15 – 16 January 2015

Lot 139

1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Sport Cabriolet A by Sindelfingen

$3,400,000 – $4,000,000

• Chassis no. 154146

• Engine no. 154146

• Body no. 826201

Photo Credit: Evan Klein ©2015 Courtesy of RM Auctions

 

180 bhp, 5,401 cc overhead-valve, inline eight-cylinder engine with a driver-activated and gear-driven supercharger, twin updraft pressurized carburetors, four-speed manual transmission, independent wishbone and coil-spring front suspension, independent swing-arm rear suspension, and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes. Wheelbase: 128 in.

• The first of only ten examples built

• Desirable styling features, including a set-back radiator

• Freshly restored by marque expert Jim Friswold

• A 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance class award winner

• Perhaps the ultimate Cabriolet A

Mercedes-Benz’s success with the 500 K was aided by the continuing defaults of its sporting luxury competitors, as the Great Depression worked its way through the ranks of society, politics, royalty, and finance. In 1936, the company followed up on that success with the 540 K. The 540 K was regarded by many, and respected by all, as the high point of the Classic Era among German automobiles, and it reflected the restless pursuit of perfection by Mercedes-Benz’s engineers, technicians, and craftsmen and the coachbuilders of the Sindelfingen Werke.