Mercedes Benz 500K Roadster

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.

Specifications

The 500K used the same independent suspension as had been introduced on the 380, with a double wishbone front axle, double-joint swing axle at the rear, and separate wheel location, coil springs and damping, a world first. Consequently, it was a more comfortable and better handling car than Mercedes' previous S/SS/SSK generation of roadsters from the 1920s, and offered greater appeal to buyers, particularly the growing number of well-heeled female drivers of the time.

Pressing the throttle pedal fully engaged the Roots supercharger, inducing the five litre straight-eight engine to produce up to and making the car capable of over , while consuming fuel at the rate of up to as it did so.

Three different chassis and eight bodies were available for customers; the two longer "B" and "C" four-seat cabriolet versions rode on a wheelbase of , and would later be used on other sedan and touring car models. The short "A" chassis, with a wheelbase, underpinned the two-seater models: the ''Motorway Courier'', and the 1936 ''Special Roadster'' which offered the highest performance. All models featured such advanced equipment as safety glass, hydraulic brakes, and a 12-volt electrical system sufficient to bear the load of the electric windscreen wipers, door locks, and indicators.

Production figures

Of the combined production of the 500K (342 cars), including 29 "Special Roadsters" during its two years in production, and the later 540K (419 cars) from Sindelfingen, the deliveries were:
* 70 chassis without body
* 28 open cars (''offener Tourenwagen'')
* 23 sedans with 4 doors (mainly 500K)
* 29 sedans with 2 doors (mainly 540K)
* 12 Coupés
* 6 Autobahn cruisers (''Autobahn-kurier'')
* 58 Roadsters
* 116 Cabriolets A
* 296 Cabriolets B
* 122 Cabriolets C

Popular culture

Cruella de Vil, the fictional character in One Hundred and One Dalmatians, drives a red and black automobile which strongly resembles a Mercedes-Benz 500K Cabriolet, an Alvis Speed 20 and a Bugatti Royale.

Gallery

File:Rétromobile 2017 - Mercedes-Benz 500 K - 1934 - 001.jpg, 1934 Mercedes-Benz 500K, at Rétromobile 2017
File:Mercedes 500 K 1936.jpg, Mercedes-Benz 500K from the rear
File:Mercedes-Benz 500K salon.jpg, Mercedes-Benz 500K cockpit
File:Mercedes-Benz 500K Tehran.jpg, Mercedes-Benz 500K Autobahn cruiser at National Car Museum of Iran that belonged to Reza Pahlavi, former Shah of Iran
File:1936_Mercedes-Benz_500K_Special_Roadster_(Louwman_Museum).jpg, 1936 Mercedes-Benz 500K Special Roadster at the Louwman Museum in The Hague, Netherlands

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

Mercedes-Benz Classic Center, Mercedes-Benz Classic Center USA presents the 500K Cabriolet at Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance


Klassik-Oldtimer-Klatt presents the 500K Cabriolet

{{Mercedes-Benz vehicles before ww2

Mercedes-Benz vehicles, 500K
1930s cars
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Cars introduced in 1934