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Soon after the merger of Mercedes and Benz, the two started developing the world’s fastest sports cars. They were based on the heavy and powerful M06 engine designed by Ferdinand Porsche and became known as the White Elephants for their brute force. The 680 Type-S was the first of this series which would mature into a legendary line of racecars that had little comparable competition until years later.

Alongside the earlier Mercedes cars like the 400 and 630, the new 680 S featured a lower chassis, which meant its heavy engine could be pushed back and down in the engine bay. This was the existing SOHC 6.3-liter six-cylinder engine enlarged to 6.8 liters and fitted with a supercharger that only spooled up at high throttle. When engaged, the 120 bhp suddenly became 180 bhp (hence the old 26/120/180 nomenclature). In race tune the engine was up to 26/170/225.

These cars were initially campaigned by the factory and driven by famous drivers such as Rudolf Caracciola who won the 1927 Nurburgring race with one. However, since the chassis was relatively simple and robust, Mercedes-Benz made road-going bodies, and sometime shipped bare chassis to be re-bodied by a company of the customer's choice. The race cars are easily identified as they have simple cycle-fendered bodies almost always painted in white while every road car was different.

The 680 evolved over the year, getting lighter and more powerful. The first major modification was made to the engine which was enlarged in 1928 to 7.0 liters for the 700 SS then 7.1 for the 710 SS, but the definitive version was the shortened 720 SSK which is a holy grail of car among car collecting. Only around five original SSKs remain and many 680 S-Types were converted replicate them.

Chassis

35313-1928 Mercedes-Benz S 26/180 Murphy Boattail Speedster. Originally ordered by Albert Isham of Santa Barbara, USA and subsequently sent to Walter M. Murphy Coach Builders in Pasadena for a Boattail Speedster body and sold to the Marx. Their car famously raced and lost on the Muroc dry lake against Phil Berg's Duesenberg Model J. Later owned by a string of owners in the Southern California area. and kept in original condition. Fitted with an SSK serial number tag indicating the car may have been upgraded by the factory.

Chassis & Sales

1928 Mercedes-Benz S 26/180 Murphy Boattail Speedster 35313 - sold for $3,740,000 Currently finished in white with blue pinstripes, the S-Type Speedster looks today very much the way it did when it ran at full speed along the dry lake bed in 1932. On the chassis as well as on several areas of the bodywork, the identification number is stamped and the engraved Murphy cap can still be found on the pivot point of the windscreen. It is an extraordinarily undisturbed example of one of the finest sporting Mercedes-Benz. Althou... more
Gallery: 2010 Gooding & Company Pebble Beach Auction

1927 Mercedes-Benz S-Type 26/180 Sportwagen - did not sell for $4,600,000 Formerly the Property of Alliston Boyer, David Tunick and Henry Petronis. An Exceedingly Rare Pre-War Mercedes-Benz Sports Car. Porsche-Designed Chassis with Supercharged Power. Originally Delivered to New York. Distinguished Provenance. Matching-Numbers, Original-Bodied Example. 2004 Pebble Beach Class Award Winner. Over 40 Years in the Petronis Collection. Eligible for the World’s Finest Motoring Events.
Gallery: 2011 Pebble Beach Auctions by Gooding & Company

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