1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Cabriolet A
Introduced at the 1934 Berlin Motor Show, the Mercedes-Benz 500K Cabriolet A quickly established itself as a milestone in prewar luxury and performance.
The “K” designated the presence of a Roots-type supercharger, engaged by fully depressing the accelerator, which elevated the power output from the standard 100 horsepower to 160 horsepower from its 5.0-liter inline-eight engine. This setup provided the car with a top speed of around 110 mph, a remarkable figure for the era.
Coachwork for the 500K Cabriolet A was typically handled by the Sindelfingen works, blending handcrafted elegance with technical innovation. Signature features included two doors, seating for four, and a convertible top, with safety glass, hydraulic brakes, and electric windshield wipers as standard equipment.
Refined underpinnings included independent front suspension with coil springs and damping, complemented by a rear double-joint swing axle. The four-speed manual transmission sent power to the rear wheels, enabling a 0-60 mph time of approximately 16 seconds.
Mercedes-Benz produced a total of 342 examples of the 500K between 1934 and 1936, of which 229 were cabriolets and only 33 were Cabriolet A models (with just 11 believed to survive today). The Cabriolet A remains a highly regarded symbol of luxury, engineering, and prewar German design.
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