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The sensation of the 1934 Berlin Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz’s legendary 500K supercar was the creation of the gifted engineer and former racing driver Dr. Hans Nibel. What set his supercharged Mercedes apart from the big, blown Mercedes of the previous decade was the model’s advanced chassis design, which combined swing axles at the rear with a new and very effective form of independent front suspension with superimposed triangular wishbones and coil springs. Nibel had created the 500K to give more power and performance than his 380 of 1932. Like the “S” series of the 1920s, the “K” models employed a form of supercharging that was peculiarly Mercedes, with the supercharger being used as a top-end booster. Pushing the gas pedal to the floor engaged the train of gears that drove the Roots-type blower, unleashing 25% more power and a banshee shriek. It was an impressive and unnerving performance, used as a short-term expedient for brief bursts of overtaking or hill climbing. Although the 500K/540K chassis attracted the attention of many of the better-quality bespoke coachbuilders of the day, Mercedes-Benz’s own Sindelfingen coachwork left little room for improvement, and it can safely be argued that its own top-of-the-range sports tourer, boldly and appropriately named the Spezial Roadster, eclipsed all its peers. A mere 29 roadsters were built on each of the 500K and 540K chassis. Less than half of those were Spezial Roadsters.
