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Topic starter
15/08/2021 7:37 am
When Germany began building its autobahns for faster automotive and truck transport (and yes, military needs too), their automakers jumped on the performance and streamlining bandwagon. At the 1934 Berlin auto show M-B unveiled this 500K coupe with a fastback tail. They didn't do much aerodynamic work with the classic Benz grille though.
16/08/2021 7:15 pm
Isn't this the car that won "Best of Show" at Pebble Beach yesterday?
16/08/2021 7:52 pm
Indeed it is.
Michael Majdalany
San Francisco, CA
Topic starter
16/08/2021 9:30 pm
Wow - what a coincidence, I didn't even know. However, not quite the same. I read a description of the Pebble winner and found a website describing the two Autobahn Kuriers that were made. I found this photo of the 1934 500K, which is the car Ixo modelled. After the Berlin auto show, the German government gifted it to the Shah of Iran. It was found in the 1960s, with two-tone green paint and a 5.4L engine, so I assume it still exists, somewhere.
Yesterday's winner is the second car, a 540K from 1938. The original owner was a professor Ingacio Barraquer, who drove it quite a bit. The family sold it in 2004, after which it was restored.
There are some slight differences in the front lights and taillights, and there are seven chrome tipped spokes on the wheels. It would be a good opportunity for Ixo to update this casting and re-release it.
16/08/2021 10:21 pm
Thanks for the history, Harv. But for most of us who are not experts in pre-war Mercedes (that would be me!), the IXO model and yesterday's Best of Show are - like darts and hand grenades - close enough! Query whether any manufacturer ever produced a Pebble Beach BOS series...you'd think it would have some marketability among collectors, given the winners are generally believed to be the cream of the crop in the 1:1 collector car world.
Harv Goranson and Harv Goranson reacted
Topic starter
16/08/2021 10:51 pm
@tedweller I count about 8 or 9 PB BOS cars in my collection, plus a bunch of class winners and others that made an appearance. And I've probably missed a few because I haven't kept track through all the years. Three of these are by EMC and B&G - quality befitting the cream of the crop. Here's their Duesenberg, a winner in 1980.
This post was modified 5 years ago 2 times by Harv Goranson
Karl Schnelle and Karl Schnelle reacted