Mercedes-Benz does not build many cars like the Mercedes-Benz 500K: a 2-door convertible with 5018 cc I8, built from 1934 to 1936 when streamlining and independent suspension were arriving together. Its designer of record is Friedrich Geiger.
How it came about
The Mercedes-Benz 500K (W29) is a grand touring car built by Mercedes-Benz between 1934 and 1936. First exhibited at the 1934 Berlin Motor Show. It is distinguished from the 500 sedan by the "K" for Kompressor (German for supercharger). it succeeded the Mercedes-Benz 380 introduced the previous year, It offered both a larger, more powerful engine and more opulent coachwork to meet customers' demands for greater luxury and performance.
The hardware
Under the skin sits 5018 cc I8. Kerb weight is Up to 2700 kg. The gearbox is a 4-speed manual / 5-speed manual (optional). The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 2980 mm (SWB) / 3290 mm (LWB). These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
Where it sits in Mercedes-Benz's history is not in doubt: the Mercedes-Benz 380SSK came before it; the Mercedes-Benz 540K followed it; it was built at Sindelfingen, Germany. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Chevrolet Suburban, the Bugatti Type 57, the Škoda Auto Škoda Superb. Its Mercedes-Benz stablemates include the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL and the Mercedes-Benz C124.
The money
There is no federal ownership record for the Mercedes-Benz 500K — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.