Mercedes 540K makes £7.6m at auction

A 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster sold for £7.6m at RM Sotheby’s Arizona Biltmore sale in Phoenix, making it the most valuable car ever sold during the famous Arizona auction week.

The previous record for an automobile sold in Arizona was held by a Ferrari 250LM, which sold for £7.4m at RM’s 2015 Arizona Biltmore sale.

The Mercedes is one of the most desirable classics of the interwar years. The elegant Special Roadster, chassis number 130894, was one of very few built in the most desirable configuration of high doors, long tail and left-hand drive.

An original US-delivery car with known history from new, it was offered in Phoenix in restored condition with 10,277 miles on the clock after 26 years in single ownership.