Start with what the Mercedes-Benz 320A is: a 2-door cabriolet with M142II, 85mm, 3405cm³, built from 1938 to 1942, when streamlining and independent suspension were arriving together. What it meant takes a little longer. The shape is credited to Max Sailer.
Where it came from
The Mercedes-Benz 320A is a cabriolet built by German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz between 1938 and 1942. The new model was lower, longer, and broader than its predecessor Mercedes-Benz 290 of type W18, the production of which started on 1933.
The new model was displayed for the first time at the Berlin Auto Show on 1937. The design process of the new Mercedes-Benz 320A was led by the former race driver Max Sailer and its obviously sporty appearance was partly due to the influence of the luxurious Mercedes-Benz 540K, the model called "Silver Arrow".
Under the skin
The engine is M142II, 85mm, 3405cm³. The layout matters: the engine sits behind the driver and ahead of the rear axle, which puts the mass in the middle of the car and is why mid-engined cars change direction the way they do. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
In the Mercedes-Benz line-up the Mercedes-Benz 320A has a clear place: it replaced the Mercedes-Benz 380, W22 / Mercedes-Benz 290, W18; the factory was Stuttgart, Germany. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Volkswagen Beetle, the Lincoln Continental, the Rolls-Royce Wraith. Nearby in the Mercedes-Benz catalogue sit the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL and the Mercedes-Benz C124.
Owning one today
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Mercedes-Benz 320A has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.