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Chassis:
During the 1970s, two Swedish car enthusiasts explored Poland and Czechoslovakia in search of hidden away gems. While visiting Poznan, Alf Johansson and Birger J. Nillsen came across a Mercedes-Benz 500 K Spezial Roadster that had been carefully dismantled. It appeared remarkably complete, reportedly only missing its fuel cap, which coincidentally Nillson already had in his possession from an earlier salvage. A deal was made to acquire the car, and as Johansson was a licenced scrap dealer, it could be transported out of the country in a fully legal manner.
Shortly after arriving in Scandinavia, the car was acquired Swedish collector Ingemar Bengtsson. He had his compatriot Jan Melin fully research and restore the rare Mercedes-Benz. Using the very complete Daimler archive, Melin determined that the car had originally been built for lawyer Dr. Alfons Sack from Berlin, who had famously represented the perpetrators of the Reichstag fire in 1934. Melin also managed to confirm that what had been retrieved from Poland was indeed a very complete, matching numbers machine.
Former Mercedes-Benz chief of design Hermann Ahrens remembered the Sack Spezial Roadster well. It was the sixth 500 K built and boasted many unique features. These included the chrome 'flashes' along the sides of the front and rear fenders and an extended 'waterfall' grille. Its original colour combination was equally extravagant: 'Speedgray' for the main bodywork with dark and light green accents and a silver upholstery. While Sack did not survive the War, the car was found relatively close to Landsberg, which is where the German lawyer had a country house. When Nillson discovered the car, it had some accident damage, which may have accounted for the loss of the fuel cap.
While Melin restored the car, he also discovered it was fitted with the larger 540 K and also featured the matching vented engine covers fitted to 540 Ks. In the Daimler archive, he discovered correspondence between Sack and Mercedes-Benz where this factory upgrade was discussed. The replacement engine was stamped at the factory with the original number to preserve its numbers matching status. The restoration was finally completed in the early 1990s. Bengtsson was clearly not quite as extravagant as Sack had been, as he commissioned Melin to paint the car red with a tan leather interior.
Having used the car only a handful of times, Bengtsson, who was reaching old age, decided to donate the car to charity. It was subsequently consigned to the 2014 Bonhams sale at the Mercedes-Benz museum. Chassis 105136 joined a formidable Mercedes-Benz stable in the United States. The one-off Spezial Roadster was shown at several events before it was entrusted to Bonhams once more, for the 2021 Amelia Island Sale. Selling for just shy of $5 million, it was the headlining car in the auction.
Chassis details |
Manufactured in |
1934 |
Engine number |
105136 |
First owner |
Dr. Alfons Sack |
License plate |
IA 1555 |
Most recent auction(s) |
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