Seventy-six years after leaving the factory, one of the world’s most extraordinary Mercedes-Benz motor cars, the von Krieger Special Roadster, a 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540 K, will be presented at Gooding & Company’s Pebble Beach Auction on August 18 & 19.
“As one of Mercedes-Benz’ ultra-rare 540 K Special Roadsters, the von Krieger Special Roadster is already a special car, yet it ranks superior to other examples because of its unrivalled condition, history and provenance,” says David Gooding, President and founder of Gooding & Company. “Its complete restoration, beautiful story and thoroughly documented history make it absolutely extraordinary and perhaps the finest 540 K Special Roadster in existence. It is the most exciting pre-war Mercedes-Benz I’ve ever known.”
The glamorous Special Roadster was purchased new in 1936 by an aristocratic Prussian family who owned some of the finest automobiles of the era. The Special Roadster was initially enjoyed by the von Krieger’s son, Henning, before his sister, Gisela, assumed the driver’s seat for her own use. Unlike many supercharged Mercedes-Benz, which were often stolen or lost during the war, the von Krieger’s Special Roadster remained an important possession of the family, carefully stored and accounted for even while they lived outside of Germany avoiding Third Reich orders. After the war ended and the family reunited, Henning and Gisela moved to New York, shipping the Special Roadster on the Queen Elizabeth, in an effort to start a new life. To escape the city’s heat, Baroness von Krieger summered at the Homestead Inn in Greenwich, where she kept her precious Special Roadster.
Following the death of her brother and mother, Baroness Gisela returned to Switzerland where she lived as a recluse until her passing in 1989. Still among her impressive possessions was the Mercedes-Benz Special Roadster, tucked away in a Greenwich garage for the better part of four decades. After the estate was settled, the Special Roadster was sold to its current owner, who has generously cared for the car ever since.
