A world-record price of £4.18 million paid for a 1929 Mercedes-Benz sports car boosted the Bonhams Goodwood Revival sale on Friday, September 3, to a new British record as the most valuable car auction ever held in the U.K.—totalling £7.7 million. This broke the 15-year-old existing record set in 1989 by the same sales team.
The surprisingly original and unmolested two-seat, supercharged Mercedes-Benz had been in the ownership of George Milligen—a reclusive Norfolk farmer for no less than 63 years.
This short-wheelbase, two-seat Mercedes-Benz Super Sport Kurz model was designed for the Stuttgart company by Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Porsche. “Kurz”—German for “Short”—indicates the model’s shorter chassis length designed to minimize weight and therefore maximize performance from the immense 300-horsepower, 6-cylinder supercharged engine.
The famous Mercedes-Benz supercharger system on this SSK model was only engaged when the throttle pedal was fully open, making the wail of its drive-gears one of the defining sounds accompanying Mercedes in such great races as the Le Mans 24-Hours event, the Mille Miglia and the German and Monaco Grands Prix.
