Footnotes

• 'A Continental test on a (Mercedes-Benz 300) production model recently made available by the manufacturers shows that the car now challenges the best produced anywhere in the world today. There are still very few saloon cars which are capable of a mean speed of over 100mph, but to obtain this result on a five/six-seater saloon car with generous room for passengers and luggage, using an engine of three-litre capacity said to deliver only 114bhp, is a notable achievement.' - The Autocar magazine, May 1952.
  
  Introduced at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 1951, the Mercedes-Benz 300 owed the design of its independently suspended oval-tube chassis to the 170S of 1949 and would later on provide the mechanical basis for the incomparable 300SL sports car. Additional refinements appropriate for the company's top-of-the-range luxury saloon included an improved steering mechanism and remote electrical control of the rear suspension ride height. Initially developing 115bhp (DIN), the 3-litre, overhead-camshaft six-cylinder engine was increased in power for succeeding models, producing 125bhp in the 300b built between March 1954 and August 1955. Other improvements included larger brakes (with servo-assistance from 1954) optional power steering and three-speed automatic transmission as standard on the 300d. Conservatively styled, the Mercedes-Benz 300 was one of very few contemporary vehicles capable of carrying six passengers in comfort at sustained high speeds. Priced at DM24,700 in 1954, the 300b Cabriolet D was among the world's most expensive - if not the most expensive - automobiles of its day.
  
  'To the characteristics of high performance, impressive appearance and fine detail finish which distinguished the big Mercedes models of pre-war days are added new virtues of silence, flexibility and lightness of control, while the latest rear suspension, a product of long experience on Grand Prix cars and touring cars, confers a degree of security at high speeds on rough and slippery surfaces which it would be very difficult indeed to equal,' observed The Autocar.
  
  A most worthy upholder of the Grosser Mercedes tradition of pre-war years, this rare Cabriolet D is one of only 262 of its type built on the 300/300b chassis during 1952 out of a total convertible production of 591. Manufactured during the final days of 1952, the car was purchased by the current owner in August 1993 at the Pebble Beach auction. Strangely, the chassis and engine numbers shown in the auction catalogue differ from the ones actually on the car but this question was addressed during 1996 and seems to have been put down to a misprint. At the time of purchase the car was described as 'being well maintained since a complete restoration' though there is no supporting history to confirm this.
  
  During 1994 the car was sent to Mercedes-Benz Stuttgart for what might best be described as an extensive renovation rather than a full restoration. There is a supporting photographic record of this renovation on file together with detailed invoices for parts and labour totalling circa 148,000 DM (approximately £65,000-70,000). Finished in cream with matching convertible hood and red leather interior, this beautiful Mercedes-Benz cabriolet is offered with Mercedes-Benz Club dating letter, MoT to June 2013 and Swansea V5 registration document, the latter recording the year of manufacture as 1953 (when the car finally left the factory).
  
  

Auction Notices

• Please note that in the printed catalogue the last sentence should read: this beautiful Mercedes-Benz cabriolet is offered with Mercedes-Benz Club dating letter, MoT to June 2013 and Swansea V5 registration document, the latter recording the year of manufacture as 1953 (when the car finally left the factory).

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Category: Motoring / Motor Cars

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