1939 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A
- Engine
- Supercharged straight-eight
A late-production Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A, built in third-series coachwork style with deeply skirted rounded fenders, and equipped with the desirable five-speed gearbox. Delivered new in Berlin in September 1939, the car subsequently spent decades in Brazil before moving to the United States in the 1980s. It retains original factory identification tags, the original engine number stamping, and period Bosch lighting, presenting as a largely cosmetically restored survivor with an intact drivetrain.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold US$1,435,000
- → 1982Acquisition unknownAlfonso Cosconepartial documentation
Car was based in Brazil during his ownership and painted cream. He held it for many years in the post-war period.
- 1982 →Private saleFranzoni Germanopartial documentation
São Paulo-based collector who acquired the car from Coscone; period photographs show the car at a Brazilian exhibition during the later 1980s.
- 1994 →Acquisition unknownCurrent California-based collectorpartial documentation
Car was refinished to its present color scheme upon joining this collection; it has been largely stored and not exhibited for over 25 years.
- Date unknownAcquisition unknownTom W. Barrett IIIpartial documentation
US-based specialist in supercharged eight-cylinder Mercedes-Benz who owned the car during the mid-1980s; photographs on file show it with black fenders during his tenure.
Competition
No competition history extracted from the catalogue.
Maintenance & restoration
- 1994Bodywork
The car was refinished to its current two-tone colour scheme around the time it entered the present collection; the restoration appears to have been primarily cosmetic in scope, leaving original mechanical identification tags and engine stampings undisturbed.
The dashboard covering was also replaced at some point, though the leather upholstery and interior woodwork were retained and show light patina consistent with age.
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