A 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A will be offered at the RM Sotheby’s Essen 2020 sale in Germany during the Techno Classica oldtimer show.
RM Sotheby’s announced its first high-profile car for the Essen Techno Classic Sale – a magnificent midnight blue 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A with coachwork by Sindelfingen, estimate €2.000.000 – €2.400.000. The car originally belonged to the 14th Maharajah of Indore and left India only during the late 1970s. It is in beautifully restored condition.
The auction and Techno Classica were postponed – probably until mid to late June 2020.
RM Sotheby’s Essen Techo Classica 2020 Sale
RM Sotheby’s second-ever classic car auction in Germany is on 27 March 2020 (postponed until probably June 2020) at Messe Essen during the renowned Techno Classica Essen fair.
In 2019, RM Sotheby’s earned €18.7 million with 86 percent of all 229 lots on offer finding new homes. The two-day sale represented one of the most successful and significant collector car auctions ever held in Germany in terms of both total value and number of cars sold.
The top result at the RM Sotheby’s Essen 2019 sale was €2,255,000 for a 1937 Mercedes Benz 540 K Cabriolet.
1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A
RM Sotheby’s announced a powerful 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A, chassis 154081, estimate €2.000.000 – €2.400.000, to headline its German sale during Essen Techno Classica 2020.
The 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A, chassis 154081, with factory coachwork by Sindelfingen, was ordered new by H.H. Yeshwant Rao Holkar II, the 14th Maharajah of Indore. One of just 83 two-passenger drophead coupé Cabriolet A models built, the 540 K was gifted to a unknown recipient by the Maharajah before his death in 1961 and resurfaced in a Mumbai shop in the late 1970s.
Eventually exported to the U.S., a nut-and-bolt, award-winning restoration was commissioned on the very complete and original car by RM Auto Restoration in 2002.
Presented in Essen in beautifully maintained condition and finished in striking deep midnight blue, this is a rare opportunity to acquire an important pre-war supercharged Mercedes-Benz with a stunning specification, restoration, and royal provenance.
Mercedes-Benz 540 K Results at Public Auctions
Other than the 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R Formula 1 racing car driven by Fangio sold for nearly $30 million by Bonhams Auctions at Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale 2013, the 540K models are generally the most-expensive Mercedes-Benz cars at public auction.
The 540 K was made in a variety of body styles with the rare Spezial Roadsters the most desirable. A a 1936 Mercedes Benz 540K Special Roadster sold by Gooding at Pebble Beach 2011 for $11,770,000 remains the most-expensive Mercedes-Benz (and German) passenger car ever. RM Sotheby’s sold a Special Roadster for $9,900,000 at Arizona 2016.
Of the cabriolet body styles, the Cabriolet A is usually the most desirable. Recent results range from a million to three million dollars with lower bids rarely successful. RM previously sold this 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A, chassis 154081, for €1,400,000 at the Villa Erba 2011 sale.