Chassis No. 105179

Engine No. 105179

In March 1934, Daimler-Benz unveiled a new eight-cylinder car at the International Motor and Motorcycle Show in Berlin. The five-liter supercharged newcomer appeared in a single Autobahn-Kurierwagen body built for high speed, with the sales brochure calling it the "star attraction of the show."

The new model carried the internal code W 29. Its M 24 engine was developed from the 380's eight, with bore and stroke each enlarged by 8 mm and a new crankshaft to match. Output rose to 100 horsepower, or 160 with the Roots blower engaged at full throttle, placing the new car among the most powerful and sophisticated automobiles of the prewar era. The 'K' in its name stood for Kompressor, or supercharger in English. An overdrive transmission with semi-automatic shifting let the driver move from direct third into overdrive without touching the clutch.

By June 1934, the price list carried seven versions, from a four-door saloon and a two-seat roadster to Cabriolets A, B, and C and an open tourer, each priced at 22,000 Reichsmarks. Each car was built largely to its customer's wishes, with bodies from the special vehicle production facility at Sindelfingen under Hermann Ahrens, renowned for the beauty and quality of its work.

Two chassis were offered on a 129.5-inch wheelbase. The second set the engine, steering, and seats more than four inches further back, and it carried the sportiest bodies. The first Spezial Roadster appeared at the Paris Motor Show in October 1934. Paris saw a new version a year later, its long tail hiding the spare wheel beneath a sweeping rear deck. At 28,000 Reichsmarks, it was the most expensive W 29 of all. Untertürkheim built 342 chassis of the five-liter car, and just 29 were the illustrious Spezial Roadsters.

This 500 K began life as a Dutch commission, delivered to its first owner on 2 October 1934 by Reijenga's Automobielbedrijf, the Mercedes-Benz dealer in The Hague, Netherlands. As built, the chassis wore a four-seat, four-window open top Cabriolet B body from the factory coachworks at Sindelfingen.

By the 1960s, the car had joined the collection of Baron J.O. Raben-Levetzau, the Danish nobleman whose Aalholm Automobil Museum in Nysted ranked among the most important private collections in Europe. The Baron had the chassis rebodied as an open two-seater inspired by the Spezial Roadster. It was a loose interpretation of the factory design. Much of its underlying structure followed the Cabriolet B, and it never had a working top. In this form, the car remained on display at Aalholm for more than 40 years.

The Aalholm collection was sold in August 2012, and this 500 K left Denmark for the United States with its next owner. The new owner had a clear aim. The chassis would receive the long-tail Spezial Roadster body it might have worn had its first buyer chosen differently, built with traditional coachbuilding methods throughout. Jim Friswold of Oregon, a name well known among 500 K and 540 K owners, oversaw the project from 2012 to 2018.

Cass Nawrocki of Minnesota formed the body by hand, shaping steel over a white ash frame. The result carries the details that define the long-tail Spezial Roadster. A V-shaped radiator sits well back, and external exhaust pipes emerge through the sides of the bonnet. The doors are rear-hinged, the windscreen is a vee, and a rumble seat is tucked into the tail. When lowered, the Dark Brown top disappears under a painted cover. Most important of all, the spare wheel rides out of sight beneath a flush cover which sets this car apart from nearly every other Spezial Roadster. That covered-spare tail is arguably the ultimate design of every factory-bodied 500 K and 540 K. It is believed that just two 500 K Special Roadsters were built in this style. The 540 K added six more, and only three of those are known to exist today.

The car is finished in burgundy with a tan leather interior, and the paint continues onto the 17-inch wire wheels. Ken Dickman trimmed the cabin, edging the hides in burgundy to tie the two together. Behind the four-spoke steering wheel sits a set of Veigel instruments, including a 200-km/h speedometer and a 4,000-rpm tachometer.

The matching-numbers supercharged eight-cylinder engine was rebuilt and is reported to have been enlarged to approximately 5.1 liters from its factory 5,018-cc displacement. Its supercharger and the Dewandre vacuum brake servo were overhauled as well. An electric fuel pump is one of the few concessions to modern use, and the original reserve fuel tank remains in place. The four-speed gearbox with its overdrive fourth gear is retained, as is the pedal-operated chassis lubrication system, which allows the running gear to be oiled from the driver's seat.

Impeccably restored and presented throughout, the car made its show debut in 2019 and quickly found favor with judges. Over that single season, it was named Best in Show at Keels & Wheels, Park Place, the Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival, and the Carmel Mission Classic. Westlake added a People's Choice award. Under current ownership, the car was shown at the 2025 Concours at Wynn Las Vegas. The project is documented by a 240-page build book, which details the restoration process step by step, including the ash framing beneath the steel bodywork. More than 2000 restoration photographs, as well as an abundance of restoration invoices accompany the sale of the striking Mercedes-Benz, in addition to a copy of the original commission sheet further documenting the car's provenance and award-winning restoration.

Original long-tail Spezial Roadsters are seldom available for sale, and very few individuals will ever have the opportunity to drive one. This example offers a rare chance to experience an authentic supercharged 500 K in its most captivating form. Its hand-built Spezial Roadster style coachwork, constructed using period-correct methods to absolutely exacting standards, has already been rewarded with multiple concours awards. From the driver's seat, the long Burgundy bonnet stretches forward, the vee windscreen frames the road, and the rebuilt matching-numbers eight-cylinder engine delivers its power through the overdrive top gear. Long, low, and impossibly elegant, it carries all the glamour that made the Spezial Roadster the defining sporting Mercedes-Benz of the 1930s, and few automobiles of any era command attention quite like it.