1929 Mercedes-Benz SSK Roadster

A Rembrandt of iron and rubber

The Mercedes-Benz SSK was developed from the S-type chassis and fitted with a 7-liter SS engine. About 33 SSKs rolled out of the factory from 1928 to 1932, and about half were competition cars like this one, which was sold with the word “Rennwagen” (racing car) written on the invoice. It was built as a long-distance racing car and fitted with the largest fuel tank ever seen on an SSK chassis.

Built in 1928, this car was sold to Julio Berndt, brother-in-law and teammate of the talented driver Carlos Zatuszek. The first important event in which they entered #36246 was the 1929 500 Miles of Argentina Race, in which they came home second. The same year, Zatuszek won the Cordoba Grand Prix. He won it again in 1930, after taking second at the Grand Prix des Nations, second at the Buenos Aires Grand Prix and winning at the Fruhlings Preis. In 1931, this SSK and its driver won the Argentinean Grand Prix.

Zatuszek sold the SSK in 1935, after...