Mercedes-Benz 500K | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Manufacturer | Mercedes-Benz |
Production | 1934–1936 |
Assembly | Sindelfingen, Germany |
Designer | Friedrich Geiger |
Body and chassis | |
Body style | 2-door convertible |
Layout | FR layout |
Powertrain | |
Engine | 5,018 cc (5.018 L) I8 |
Transmission | 4-speed manual optional 5-speed manual [1] |
Dimensions | |
Wheelbase | 2,980 mm (117.3 in) (SWB) 3,290 mm (129.5 in) (LWB) |
Curb weight | Up to 2,700 kg (6,000 lb) |
Chronology | |
Predecessor | Mercedes-Benz 380SSK |
Successor | Mercedes-Benz 540K |
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, [1] it carried the factory designation W29. [2] Distinguished from the 500 sedan by the "K" for Kompressor (German for supercharger), only fitted to these performance cars, it succeeded the Mercedes-Benz 380 introduced just the previous year. It offered both a larger, more powerful engine and more opulent coachwork to meet customers' demands for greater luxury and performance. [3] [4]
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. [1] [3] 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. [1]
Pressing the throttle pedal fully engaged the Roots supercharger, [1] inducing the five litre straight-eight engine to produce up to 160 horsepower (120 kW) and making the car capable of over 160 kilometres per hour (100 mph ), while consuming fuel at the rate of up to 30 L/100 km (9.4 mpg‑imp; 7.8 mpg‑US) as it did so. [1] [4]
Three different chassis and eight bodies were available for customers; [1] [4] the two longer "B" and "C" four-seat cabriolet versions rode on a wheelbase of 3,290 mm (129.5 in), and would later be used on other sedan and touring car models. [1] The short "A" chassis, with a 2,980 mm (117.3 in) wheelbase, underpinned the two-seater models: the Motorway Courier, and the 1936 Special Roadster which offered the highest performance. [1] [5] 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. [4]
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: [1]
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.
The Mercedes-Benz W124 is a range of executive cars made by Daimler-Benz from 1984 to 1997. The range included numerous body configurations, and though collectively referred to as the W-124, official internal chassis designations varied by body style: saloon (W 124); estate (S 124); coupé (C 124); cabriolet (A 124); limousine (V 124); rolling chassis (F 124); and long-wheelbase rolling chassis (VF 124).
The Mercedes-Benz W111 was a chassis code given to a range of Mercedes-Benz vehicles produced between 1959 and 1971, including four-door saloons (1959–1968) and two-door coupés and cabriolets (1961–1971). Their bodywork featured distinctive tailfins that gave the models their Heckflosse nickname — German for "fintail".
The Mercedes-Benz W189 model 300 was a four-door luxury tourer produced by Mercedes-Benz between 1957 and 1962. It was the company's flagship model at the time, equivalent to the modern S-Class and Maybach.
The Mercedes-Benz W112 is a luxury automobile produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1961 to 1967. Marketed as the 300SE, it was available as a coupé, convertible, sedan, and stretched sedan (Lang), all generally similar in appearance to the corresponding Mercedes-Benz W111.
The Mercedes-Benz W186 Model 300 was a four-door luxury sedan produced by Mercedes-Benz between 1951 and 1957. It was the company's flagship model at the time, succeeding the World War II era W150. Three versions were produced in succession, known informally as the 300a, 300b, and 300c. An enlarged "300d" variant built on the W189 chassis succeeded it in late 1957.
The Mercedes-Benz W136 was Mercedes-Benz's main line of inline-four cylinder motorcars from the mid-1930s into the 1950s. The model 170 V made its public debut as successor to the W15 Typ 170 in February 1936. Between 1936 and 1939 it was Mercedes' top selling model.
From 1931 to 1939, Daimler-Benz AG produced three cars with rear engine as well as a few prototypes. The production numbers remained quite low for each of these models, especially compared to the production of classical front-engine Mercedes cars.
The Mercedes-Benz Mannheim 350 replaced the W03/Typ 350 models in 1929. The structure originated by Ferdinand Porsche was modified by Hans Nibel.
The Mercedes-Benz 540K (W29) is a grand touring car built by the German firm Mercedes-Benz between 1936 and 1940.
The Mercedes-Benz W15 is an automobile produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1931 to 1936. Regarded today as a mid-size family car, it was given the chassis designation W15, and sold as the Typ 170 in four-door "Limousine" (sedan/saloon) and Cabriolet forms.
The Mercedes-Benz 380 is an eight-cylinder powered automobile introduced by the German manufacturer Mercedes-Benz at the Berlin Motor Show in February 1933. It was withdrawn from production during 1934. Several models with similar names were produced by Mercedes-Benz during the 1930s, so that in retrospect the car is frequently identified using the manufacturer's Works Number as the W22.
The Mercedes-Benz Typ 230 n was introduced by Mercedes-Benz in 1937 as a successor to the Typ 230 . It was one of several models over the space of nearly eight decades to be sold with a name along the lines "Mercedes-Benz 230", and is therefore in retrospect more normally named according to its internal works designation as the Mercedes-Benz W 143.
The Mercedes-Benz W 21 was a six-cylinder passenger car launched in 1933 using the name Mercedes-Benz Typ 200. It was one of several Mercedes-Benz models known, in its own time, as the Mercedes-Benz 200 and is therefore in retrospect more commonly referred to using its Mercedes-Benz works number, “W21”.
The Mercedes-Benz W 142 was a six-cylinder passenger car launched in February 1937, as a successor to the Mercedes-Benz Typ 290. The car was known by its name Typ 320 at the time of its production and service, but is in retrospect commonly referred to using its Mercedes-Benz works number, "W142", which gives a more unambiguous, unique nomenclature.
The Mercedes-Benz W08 was a large luxury car produced by Daimler-Benz. It was introduced in Autumn 1928, as Mercedes-Benz's first eight-cylinder passenger car. Also known by various “type numbers”, it remained in production with various modifications and upgrades until the later summer of 1939, the longest lived Mercedes-Benz model of the 1920s and 1930s.
The Mercedes-Benz W18 was a six-cylinder automobile introduced as the Mercedes-Benz Typ 290 in 1933. It was a smaller-engined successor to the manufacturer’s Typ 350 / 370 Mannheim model. In terms of the German auto-business of the 1930s it occupied a market position roughly equivalent to that filled by the Mercedes-Benz E-Class in the closing decades of the twentieth century. The W18 was replaced in 1937 by the manufacturer’s W142.
The Mercedes 24/100/140 PS was a large luxury car introduced by Daimler of Untertürkheim in 1924. Production continued until 1929 by which time Daimler had merged with Benz & Cie and the car's name changed to Mercedes-Benz Typ 630. The car was conceptually and structurally similar to the contemporary Mercedes 15/70/100 PS, but the 24/100/140 PS was longer, heavier, more powerful, faster and more expensive.
The Mercedes-Benz W11 was a midsize six-cylinder automobile introduced by Daimler-Benz it 1929. It was developed from the Mercedes-Benz W02 first seen in 1926, and the W11 shared its chassis and bodywork with the W02, but the W11 came with a larger more powerful engine, a new name and a wider list of “standard bodies” from which customers could choose.
The Mercedes-Benz M24 engine is a supercharged, 5.0-liter and 5.4-liter, straight-8 engine, designed, developed and produced by Mercedes-Benz; between 1934 and 1944.