Few cars of any era conjure up such evocative visions as the pre-war supercharged Mercedes, particularly if it’s one of the Ferdinand Porsche designed six cylinders sports racing cars. Distinguished by an impossibly long bonnet, the three pointed star set atop the vee-radiator almost like a fighter pilot’s gun sight, these Stuttgart built leviathans were powered by massive straight six engines of almost seven litres capacity and were capable of nudging 200km/h, a speed which most motorists could not imagine in the late 1920s.

With power output boosted by Mercedes’ legendary Kompressor, the distinctive banshee wail of which announced to mere mortal road users ahead that they were about to be overtaken at speed by what Mercedes billed as ‘The Fastest Sports Car in the World’, these were, and still are, very special machines indeed.

It’s rare that one of the handful of survivors comes to the market. In 2004 Bonhams auctioned a ‘barn find’ SSK, the ultimate, short chassis version of this design, for over £4.2m at their Goodwood sale. And now, offered for the first time in over two decades, market experts Kidston SA in Geneva have uncovered another ‘Mighty Mercedes’, this time a long chassis ‘S’ type sports tourer variant from 1927, which the car’s private owner has instructed them to sell.



Delivered new via the British Mercedes-Benz showrooms in London, W1 during the closing days of the Roaring Twenties, the car has spent much of its life in Continental Europe. It’s rarely been publicly displayed but would be a great addition to any historic tour or concours d’elegance event, providing the new owner doesn’t mind risking a motorcar now worth well in excess of seven figures.

If that’s too rich for your tastes, have a look at some of the other rare offerings which Kidston SA have been entrusted with by their clients. Their new website is worth a visit if just to see the images of cars crashed by generations of Kidstons in the insurance section...



Story: Classic Driver
Photos: Kidston SA - Strictly Copyright

Simon Kidston's company, Kidston SA, was formed in 2006 with the benefit of almost two decades experience at the forefront of the collectors' car world. Services available include; Rapid financing for acquisitions, specialist insurance solutions, objective, confidential advice on buying and selling including the latest market valuations, and Private Sales Portfolios, the very latest of which can be see on the Classic Driver Car Database.

Kidston S.A. 7 Avenue Pictet de Rochemont, 1207 Geneva, Switzerland Tel:+41 22 740 1939 Fax:+41 22 740 1945 Email: [email protected] Website: www.kidston.com