Rare 1938 Mercedes 540K cabriolet could make £1.9m at Stuttgart sale

A rare 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540 Kompressor Cabriolet A could make between £1,5m and £1.9m when it goes under the hammer.

The car heads Bonhams Mercedes-only sale at Retro Classics Stuttgart on 28 March, 2015.

Restored to concours condition, the two-seater 540 K is a lighter variant of the original 500 K design and was developed in the mid-1930s.

Competing for top billing is a 1960 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster, which carries an estimate between £700,000 and £940,000. An extremely original example, the roadster has been in current ownership since 1980, and at its peak was the fastest production Mercedes around.

The 300SL was previously owned by German industrialist, Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach (1907-1967), of the Krupp dynasty.

Last year’s single-marque Bonhams sale made a total of £9.4m so the this year’s target is top that. Held in the Mercedes-Benz Museum, Bonhams auction will showcase a variety of some 40 classic motor cars from across the German marque’s century-long history.