1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Cabriolet Type A

5,401cc OHV Inline 8-cylinder Engine
Rootes Supercharger
180bhp at 3400rpm (Supercharger Engaged)
5-Speed Manual Transmission
4-Wheel Independent Suspension
4-Wheel Drum Brakes

*The 1973 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Best of Show Winner
*Formerly part of prominent collections including Melton, Chandler, Wars and Lyon
*Unique coachwork features including raked and ‘vee’d windscreen’
*One of the great automobiles of its day

According to Mercedes-Benz factory records, the magnificent 540K offered here, chassis and engine number 408371, were delivered as a left-hand drive car under commission number 311463 to a client in Paris on April 29, 1939. The bodywork is recorded by the factory as a Cabriolet A, which indeed was at the top of the Sindelfingen coachwork lineup of the time. However, 408371 was not to be a ‘standard’ Cabriolet A, but was ordered with a raked vee’d windshield, a feature found on the iconic Special Roadsters of the period, which emphasizes both the length of the front end and the powerful thrust of the front fenders. Only one similar example of such a Special Cabriolet, produced on the earlier 5.0-Liter 500K platform, is known to exist. The cockpit offers luxurious seating for two additional passengers behind the front seats, and a 3-piece fitted luggage is situated in the trunk. Having been completed near the end and fully developed production run of the 500/540K production run, this car is fitted with the desirable 5-speed manual transmission, an astonishing feature at the time when most cars on the road were 3-speed.

Its earliest known post-war owner was American operatic tenor James Melton, probably one of the best-known American car collectors of the time. Mr. Melton appears to have used his 540K quite extensively for much of the rest of his life. He and 540K number 408371 were photographed together many times, including at Indianapolis in 1947, at Watkins Glen in 1949, and in front of the Melton household in Weston, Connecticut. In his 1954 autobiography, Bright Wheels Rolling, he wrote of the fun that he had with his supercharged Beast: ‘Most superchargers draw from the carburetor, but the Mercedes type blew through the carburetor. The whistle of the compressed air going past the obstructions and turnings of the carburetor made a noise that would lift the wig off a dressmaker’s dummy’. Surely a cornerstone and favorite of Mr. Melton’s collection, as even when he began selling his collection in the 1950s, 540K 408371 would be retained. Only shortly before his passing in 1961 was it sold, as one of the final cars in his stable.

About a decade later, 408371 was purchased by Otis Chandler, another renowned pioneering car collector. The latest family member to publish the Los Angeles Times, Chandler is well remembered by his many friends in the car collecting hobby as a good-natured, conscientious enthusiast of superb integrity, known for purchasing only the finest examples for his diverse and superb collection. The 540K was restored for Chandler by renowned restorer Richard Martin in time for the 1973 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Finished in a striking two-tone green livery, it was shown by Marilyn B. Chandler along with the couple’s Duesenberg Model J Tourster. Not surprisingly, the 540K won its class and went on to win the prestigious Best of Show award.

In the early 1990s, 540K number 408371 was restored again by the late Mike Fennel of Saugas, California, during which time it was changed to the present livery of bright scarlet, with tan leather upholstery and a tan padded cloth top. It then joined its present owner’s collection, where it has now been maintained for over two decades. With its exceptional pedigree of previous and current prominent car collector owners, 408371 can rightfully be considered one of the superlative 540Ks. It has all that all the ingredients a collector car should have in spades: stunning and quite unique coachwork design, superb engineering, and Best of Show winning history.