1938 Mercedes Benz 320 Cabriolet A
edited by David Barth, 15 December 2008.
Courtesy "The Auto Collections" showroom at the Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino in Las, Vegas, Nevada, USA. Photos were
taken 23 November 2006.
Some of the information presented below is from "Imperial Palace Auto Collection" by Ralph Engelstad, owner of the
hotel/casino and the automobiles until his death in 2002.
Chassis number: 407820
This car is one of 30 cabriolet A bodies fitted on the Mercedes Benz 320 chassis. This car is the only known
right-hand drive 320 Cabriolet A in existence.
This very desirable prize-winning car was meticulously restored about 20 years ago and has been on display in museums
ever since.
At the time these photos were taken, the price was $425,000.
History:
Daimler and Benz combined in 1926 in Stuttgart, Germany, and the company introduced many great cars, especially the
SSK and SSKL models designed by the company's top engineer, Ferdinand Porsche. These were powerful cars for that era,
with big six-cylinder, supercharged engines.
Porsche left Daimler Benz in 1928 and the company suffered from financial difficulties during the early years of the
depression, but by the beginning of the 1930's, the company was gaining strength. Germany was building the Autobahn,
and this challenged Mercedes Benz to build a car capable of sustained, high-speed cruising.
Hans Nibel took Porsche's place as chief engineer, and in 1933 his first design was the 380, powered by a 3.8 liter,
overhead camshaft, straight-eight engine. The engine did not generate the expected power, and its displacement was
increased to 5 liters (306 cubic inches) in 1934 and the model identification was changed to 500K. The "K" denoted the
addition of a "Kompressor" (supercharger).
In 1935 the company offered nine body styles. They were drawn by Hermann Ahrens and built by Daimler Benz's own
Sindelfingen coachworks.
