PRE-WAR MERC PROJECT FINDS A NEW HOME
Among the cars sold at Bonhams’ Simeone Foundation sale in October was a desirable 1935 MercedesBenz 290 Cabriolet. One of the firm’s most successful models had been the Type 170, and this was replaced by the 200 series, the most powerful of which was the 290, with a 2.9-litre six-cylinder engine. This was available in both short- and long-chassis forms, and was popular with coachbuilders. The factory offered four different versions of the Cabriolet design: two or four doors, on a short or long chassis.
The most popular was the Cabriolet A short-chassis two-door, which is what was offered at the sale.
It is thought that this originally dark-red car was bought new by a wine grower in Burgundy, France. No further history is known until it appeared after the war in a dispersal sale in Marseilles. In 1957 an American working in France bought it from a mechanic in Arles for $200. He is known to have toured widely in the Mercedes, including to Switzerland and Germany, and later imported it into the USA via New York before driving to his home in Baltimore. It is not known when it came off the road, but it would appear that it may at some time have been prepared for restoration.
The car looked to be largely complete, with many parts packed into the cabin, and retained its original red leather interior, The bodywork was tied to the chassis for shipping purposes, and may well have been removed in the past.
At some stage it had entered the Petersen Museum reserve collection, from where it was being sold.