| Mercedes-Benz 220 A Cabriolet B Coys of Kensington | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| One of the most startling illustrations of the astonishing speed with which the German economy was rebuilt in the years following 1945 is that by 1951 the Mercedes Benz company was back up to producing about 3000 cars per month; some two hundred of these were the newly-introduced 220A series, available in both open and closed forms. The 220, with its short-stroke ohc engine was considerably faster than the 170 series it superseded, with a maximum speed close to 90mph rather than 75mph, and at the time it also seriously impressed road testers for the British magazine 'The Motor' by its remarkable levels of grip and handling. Of course it also offered the normal Mercedes quality design and engineering in its cruciform chassis made up of oval tubes, and its front suspension layout derived from the pre-1939 Grand Prix cars. Impressive as the 220A was in saloon form, it was even more elegant as a well-proportioned cabriolet, and it one of these that we are pleased to be offering. Sold new in 1951 in Hamburg, the car eventually made its way to the Unites States for a period before returning to Europe in the 1990s. Now more than forty years old, it was beginning to show its age, and the then Belgian collector who owned it embarked on a restoration to a truly startling level of detail. The photographic record of the work carried out over a four-year period shows the body off the chassis, the whole engine and drivetrain dismantled, and the brakes and suspension completely renewed, a level of detail often claimed but seldom in reality achieved. Accompanying the car is a satisfyingly ample history file which contains bills, invoices and other correspondence as well as the photographic record mentioned. The car was originally delivered over sixty years ago in a well-chosen livery of Royal Blue, and as part of the restoration was returned to the same colour scheme, again with a Black hood and with grey-blue interior leather. One of the features of the model was in fact the opulence of the trim, which also includes elaborately-shaped wood cappings to the doors and dash, and full instrumentation. Overall this must be seen as a rare chance to acquire an exceptionally well-restored example of a highly desirable classic.
Sold on the 30.10.2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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