The Mercedes-Benz Museum plays host to yet another Bonhams auction

Bonhams is back at it again with the classic Mercedes-Benzes. On the 19^th of March, collectors will converge on the Mercedes-Benz Musem in Stuttgart for The Mercedes-Benz Sale. Despite its rather innocuous name, it is an especially important event for Mercedes-Benz as it allows them to showcase numerous pieces in their collection, which will eventually find their way into the homes of collectors.

There are a huge range of items up for auction. Not merely limited to cars, the auction also includes classic brochures and paintings, memorabilia and models, and even go karts that were run by McLaren themselves. The event demands a certain level of prestige as even these smaller items start from around 500 Euros.

Every year, Bonhams will select a number of especially rare or special models to lead the sale. This year, the cars hark from the 1930s- a time when the Art Deco movement was in full swing, which in turn influenced the styling of these rare pieces.

Heading the pack of cars is a 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500 K Cabriolet, which is an extremely rare model because of the nature of it’s construction. This particular model was displayed as just a bare-bones chassis during the Paris Auto Show of that year, and it was bought straight off the stand by a wealthy doctor.

The doctor took the chassis to a coachbuilder in Paris. At the time, coachbuilders provided custom bespoke bodywork for cars that made them even more exclusive than they already were. Very few coachbuilders are still operating, but think of them as similar to how Zagato builds their bespoke pieces.

Estimated at a price of between 6,000,000 Euros and 7,000,000 Euros, this one-off cabriolet won’t budge easily- but no doubt there will be an affluent car enthusiast out there who simply must add it to their collection. There will also be a few other models from the 1930s on offer, albeit none quite as rare as this black beauty.  To browse the full list of tiems on auction, check it out here: http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/23590/