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Among the very first 540 Ks built, this Special Roadster was ordered new by Barones Josephine von Krieger. The German aristocrat most likely bought the car as a graduation gift for her son Henning. The car was finished in a deep black with pigskin upholstery and boasted a state-of-the-art Telefunken radio. Between 1936 and 1939, the Von Krieger family used the luxurious machine mostly on the streets of Paris where they resided. Henning von Krieger returned to Germany at the outbreak of the War and brought the Spezial Roadster to Mercedes-Benz for maintenance and repairs.
By 1942 the Mercedes-Benz was shipped to Switzerland where the car remained until the family left for the United States in 1949. The family returned to Switzerland in 1958 but left the car in the United States. By the mid-1960s various parties showed an interest in acquiring the Spezial Roadster including the Mercedes-Benz museum. Gisela von Krieger, the sole surviving scion of the family, refused all offers and held on to the car until her death in 1989. Following a long legal dispute over the car's ownership, it was finally sold by Gisela von Krieger's estate in 1994.
Unused since the 1950s, the very early Spezial Roadster emerged from hiding in a time-warp condition. The second owner from new was German Horst Lautenschlager, who reportedly paid a multi-million dollar sum for this long elusive privilege. Sadly, he did not enjoy the ownership and after a dispute with his restorer, he asked noted expert Paul Russell to find a new custodian. So in 1998 the car changed hands again and it was subsequently submitted to a diligent restoration by Classic Car Service of Oxford, Maine. The stunning result was awarded with a 'best in class' at Pebble in 2004. Rarely shown since, the Von Krieger Spezial Roadster set a new world record for a Mercedes-Benz sold at auction in 2012 when it was sold by Gooding & Co. at Pebble Beach for nearly $12 million.
| Chassis details |
| Manufactured in |
1936 |
| First owner |
Barones Josephine von Krieger |
| License plate |
IA 6417 |
| Appearances |
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| Most recent auction(s) |
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540 K Spezial Roadster
