Beschreibung:

2,996cc SOHC Inline 6-Cylinder Engine Bosch Fuel Injection 175bhp at 5,400rpm 4-Speed Manual Transmission 4-Wheel Independent Suspension 4-Wheel Drum Brakes *One of only 53 examples built *Matching numbers example *Highly exclusive, top-of-the-line 300Sc Roadster *Offered with Mercedes-Benz factory records Previewing at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California by appointment. Please contact motors.us@bonhams.com for scheduling. THE MERCEDES-BENZ 300 SERIES More expensive than the 300SL sports car and almost double the price of the contemporary top-of-the-range Cadillac, the Mercedes-Benz 300S was one of the world's most exclusive automobiles. It is also historically significant as one of Mercedes-Benz's first all-new designs of the post-war era, debuting at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 1951. The 300's arrival re-established Mercedes-Benz in the front ranks of prestigious car manufacturers, marking a return to the marque's tradition of building high-performance luxury automobiles of the finest quality. Custom built by Mercedes-Benz's most experienced craftsmen, the Mercedes-Benz 300 was luxuriously appointed and trimmed with materials of the highest quality. Fast and elegant, it was one of very few contemporary vehicles capable of carrying six passengers in comfort at sustained high speeds. The 300 was the car of choice among West German government officials, and throughout Europe and the USA was widely favored by businessmen, financiers and politicians. The conservatively styled 300 Saloon was soon joined by the 300S (Super), a model that succeeded in recapturing all the elegance of the pre-war 540K. Introduced at the Paris Salon in October 1951, the 300S was built in two-seater Coupe, Cabriolet and Roadster forms on a shortened 300 saloon chassis. The top offering of the series was the 300Sc. The 300Sc featured a 175bhp dry-sump engine equipped with Bosch fuel injection, and boasted a revised rear suspension with single-pivot swing axles similar to that of the 300SL Roadster, a development that enhanced both road holding and handling. Coachbuilt in the traditional manner by Sindelfingen, the 300S family represents a standard of excellence that has rarely been equaled; only materials of the finest quality were used for the hand finished interiors, which were comparable with those of the contemporary Rolls-Royce. The 300Sc is widely regarded by discerning collectors as the most desirable of all Mercedes-Benz's post-war luxury models. Only 200 examples of the 300Sc were built and survivors are both rare and highly sought after. Ownership of such an exclusive automobile was necessarily restricted to a wealthy few, among them film stars Cary Grant and Gary Cooper, and the Aga Khan. These exquisite top of the line 300 models represented the true transition from the pre-war era to the 1950s. The spiritual successor to the era of the 'kompressor' Mercedes, it was perhaps not surprising that in house designer Hermann Ahrens was entrusted to bring the concepts and styling into the modern day. As he had when creating remarkable designs such as the Autobahn-Kurier, the work on the 300 series had all of the key hallmarks for the brand: sports performance, presence and the height of luxury. THE MOTORCAR OFFERED "Comfort plus high performance for sporty drivers" - was how Mercedes-Benz described the ultra-rare 300Sc Roadster model, in their sales brochures and shows the market that they positioned it towards. Over the course of 4 years of production, there would be mere 200 of the ultimate specification 300Sc models built, and of those only 53 Roadsters were built. According to the factory build sheet that accompanies this exceptional 300Sc Roadster, it was dispatched new from the Sindelfingen factory on April 4th, 1956 to Mihlenverwaltung a. Lagerhaus to Clemens Auer, Industrial Ports in Köln-Deutz, Germany. At some time early in its life, the car would make the journey to the United States where it would have several priva