A 1930s Mercedes found in a manure heap on a farm in Ethiopia is now one of the star items at a standout vintage car auction.
The 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500 K ‘Caracciola’ Special Coupe is a one-off and said to be the most desirable car ever made by the German marque.
The car was made for Rudolf Caracciola, a German driver who was the first non-Italian to win the Mille Miglia race.
Caracciola won a hatful of trophies with Mercedes-Benz, and still holds the world record for the fastest speed recorded on a public road at 268.9 mph.
Dr Milton Roth and Bill Post, well-known US car collectors, had owned the car, but it had not been seen in public since 1980.
Caracciola – to whose body the car is tailored – owned the car until it was sold, possibly to Italian Fascist politician Galeazzo Ciano, who was Mussolini’s son-in-law.
Caracciola at the wheel as he wins the 1926 German Grand Prix. He was a celebrity with a European and American reputation.
Somehow it ended up in Ethiopia, where Tom Hanson, whose father restored the car, says: “It was covered in tarpaulins and hidden in a manure pile.”
The car comes to sale at Sotheby’s RM in Los Angeles on October 26 via the Rudi Klein junkyard.
Sotheby’s say: “Since 1967, Rudi Klein, a renowned figure in the world of collecting, had quietly amassed a remarkable collection of automotive treasures in a modest junkyard in Southern Los Angeles. Known for his discerning eye and passion for rare and unique automobiles, Klein’s collection has long been a well-kept secret, with only rumors of its existence swirling amongst certain collectors’ circles.”
The cars in the sale are being sold without reserves and some, like the Caracciola car, without estimates.
Top Gear describe that car as “likely one of the single most desired classic cars in existence.”
Alongside it, standout lots include a 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL “Alloy” Gullwing, a racing legend with a £3.4 million to £4.5 million estimate. A 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 by Bertone should sell for as much as £550,000.
