German Car Zone

1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K "Autobahn Kurier"

In March of 1934, a new Mercedes debuted at the Berlin Car Show. The name of this car was "Autobahnen Kurierwagen 8-Zylinder Kompressor Typ 500". Only one model existed and the brochures informed the public that this car was designed for incredibly high-speeds on the Autobahns going as far to claim that the high winds at those speeds gave the car its defining shape. Mercedes built the new model on the existing W29 chassis. Talented craftsmen hammered and formed the metal into the shape you see in the photos. Back in the '30s such designs were called Stromlinienform and many fans of classic automobiles consider the Mercedes 540K Autobahn Kurier to be the most beautiful car ever made.

Some consider the "Autobahn Kurier" to have been ahead of its time in terms of design. Mercedes clientele at the time was just as conservative as they were today - buying only 761 W29 cars between February 1934 and November 1939. Of these 761 W29s, 342 were equipped with a 5-liter engine and 419 with a 5.4-l engine, both engines were equipped with a Kompressor and the remaining 70 chassis were sent to external firms that would construct special client wishes.

Out of 761 W29s, only six (6) 540K Autobahn Kuriers were built - of which only this one survives. Four of these were built with the 5-liter engine while the remaining two were blessed with the 5.4-l engine. These cars were very expensive during their time. A 500K Autobahn Kurier cost 24,000 Reichsmark in 1935/1936 - a 500K Spezial Roadster even 28,000 Reichsmark.

As previously mentioned, only two 540K Autobahn Kuriers were built. The first model was exported to Iran in 1937. It is believed that the car is still in that country, but no credible sources of its existence have been found.

The 540K Autobahn Kurier shown here was the last model built out of the six. On October 26, 1938, the car was driven under its own power to Gibraltar from Germany where it arrived on November 1. Its recipient and new owner awaited it arrival: Dr. Ignacio Barraquer Barraquer (1884-1965), a famous eye doctor from Barcelona, Spain. Barraquer Barraquer's son remembers how his father had a fondness for fast cars and undertook journeys from Libya to Egypt, prior to World War II. After World War II, the car was driven through Austria and Switzerland. After Barraquer Barraquer's death, the car remained in the family until 2004, when it was sold to Mexican car collector Arturo Keller, who had the car restored in the United States so its beauty could shine for eternity.

The Scans

The 540K Autobahnkurier (in black) is, along with the 540K Spezial Roadster (in dark red preferably), the most beautiful car ever created. It is so incredible that it is not a car any more, it is a splendid work of art.

These two are for me the only ones who can be described as true art jewels, not only automobile jewels. They'd deserve a place, not in a car museum, but in an art museum who would reunify the most splendid creations the man gave birth to.
Even the Bugatti Atlantic is pretty far from the perfection of an Autobahnkurier imo.

Nothing with wheels can compare to one of these pure marvels, they are absolute proof of the man's ability to transcende its nature.

I can't give you Karma, have to spread it out before, but the intent is there. Many many thanks for that, Chris!