Yep, Adolf Hitler's Mercedes is up For Sale... #blogpost

Estimated to sell for many millions...

You may have seen that a rather special version of the Toyota Supra is up for grabs next month at a Japanese auction. It’s Smokey Nagata’s, the madman who set the record of 197mph on the A1.

With a V12 engine and a rather striking body kit, it’s one of the most interesting cars that’s come up for sale in a while.

But I can beat that- with this: a Mercedes Benz owned by the notorious German dictator.

What Exactly Is It?

To be precise, the car in question is a 1939 Mercedes 770K Grosser Offener Tourenwagen. Which was not a car for regular customers, Hitler commissioned the engineers to build this car specifically for him.

The paperwork proves that too- because over 50 receipts, cheques and confirmations show that it wasn’t just built for Hitler, he ordered it too.

And because it was the car of one of the most historically significant people on earth, it does have modifications.

The Specs

The 770K not only looked majestic, it could also shift. It’s powered by a 7.7 litre supercharged straight eight, which churns out 230bhp with the supercharger engaged.

It’s also mated to a 5 speed manual gearbox with overdrive, so none of that power is wasted.

This was the car that Mercedes had to compete against the likes of Rolls Royce, Bugatti and Hispano Suiza. But all rivals halted production once WW2 came along, and Hitler obviously wanted to stick German. (Even though he was Austrian…)

But that’s not all, this car has bulletproof glass, bespoke spotlights and posts where flags could be put up.

The History

According to reports, the first proper outing of the car was in 1940 when Hitler greeted Italian fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini in Munich. It was then driven around Berlin later that year after the conquering of France.

And once it was taken back to Sindelfingen (the coach-builders), a vast amount of allied bombing from allied nations caused severe destruction to all Daimler Benz factories, destroying nearly everything inside. But Hitler’s 770K had survived!

Throughout the latter half of the war, car parts became almost non-existent. But Hitler often travelled by road, most significantly to France for meetings with Field Marshall Rommel following the Allied invasion of France.

Shortly after that continental trip, the car was seized by American forces with Hitler flying back to Berlin. By 1946 after a 1-year ownership with a French engineer, the car was exported to the USA.

Would You Bid?

“The most historically significant automobile ever offered for public sale.”- Scottsdale Auctions.

Estimates for the car suggest between $5-7 million, but when else will a car like this come up for sale? Plus 10% of whatever it goes for will be donated to educating young people about the Holocaust.

This is just one of 5 surviving Offener Tourenwagen Mercs in existence, and arguably the most significant of them all.

I’m intrigued to know what it’ll fetch once it sells next month. Until then, below are more pictures!

Thanks for reading :)