A Mercedes-Benz that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler gifted to his deputy Rudolf Hess before the outbreak of World War II is expected to fetch around $NZ3 million at auction in the US next month.
The 1934 500 K Offener Tourenwagen, or “open touring car”, is believed to be one of five unrestored examples of 500 K variants in existence. It has been in a private museum in West Virginia since 2005.
The chassis and engine numbers correspond to Mercedes-Benz factory records, as does the original plate on the firewall. Auction house Gooding & Co. says records also show the auction car was delivered in late 1934 to Rudolf Hess in Berlin. Hitler had just appointed Hess as Nazi Germany’s deputy leader.
The 500 K’s body is by Singlefingen, the celebrated factory coachbuilder. Singlefingen did the car’s interior, too, much of which is original work, says the auction house.
Under the long bonnet is a 5.0-litre straight-eight equipped with a Roots-type supercharger, which boosts power to 120kW at 3400 rpm, a formidable output for the day.
A four-speed gearbox and four-wheel vacuum-assisted hydraulic drum brakes are complemented by front independent double-wishbone suspension with coil springs and a rear swing-axle with coils.
Nazi second-in-command Hess had the car until 1941, before he flew alone to the UK in an ill-fated attempt to seek a peace agreement with Britain to change the direction of World War II.
He bailed out over Scotland when his plane ran out of fuel and was imprisoned by the British until the end of the war in 1945.
The story goes that Hess’ car was commandeered by an US Army officer after the fall of Berlin and later shipped back to the US, after Hess was jailed for life at the Nuremberg Trials in 1946. Hess was born in Egypt in 1894 and died in Spandau prison in Berlin in 1987, aged 93.
The 500 K was bought and sold in the US in the late ‘40s early ‘50s before ending up in private hands for 50 years. Gooding & Co. is selling the car as part of the estate of its most recent owner.