 After the end of the Great War, Daimler and Benz resumed automobile production. But by the early 1920s, economic conditions were very bad: the war had left the German economy in ruins and inflation was rampant. Of the 86 German car factories operating in 1924, only 19 had survived three years later. If the two great rivals were to avoid extinction, they had to merge. On July 1, 1926, Daimler and Benz completed their merger, having paved the way for this union since 1924 through a technical cooperation agreement. By then, Paul Daimler, son of founder Gottlieb Daimler and chief engineer of the firm, had left for Horch and his place had been taken by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche. Like his predecessor, Porsche was a proponent of supercharging and, despite his departure from Daimler-Benz in 1928, his legacy appeared in the form of a series of supercharged Mercedes that soon became legendary. Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft had launched the first supercharged production cars, the 6/25/40 and 10/40/65 four-cylinder, at the 1921 Berlin Motor Show (the three numbers indicate administrative power, actual power without supercharger and power with supercharger activated, respectively). From his arrival in early 1923, Porsche himself was involved in the development of the four- and eight-cylinder racing cars with compressor designed by Paul Daimler and of the supercharged six-cylinder series types 15/70/100 and 24/100/140, which debuted at the 1924 Berlin Motor Show. After the merger in 1926, these models were renamed Type 400 and 630. In the same year, a "K" version (from Kurz: abbreviation), with a wheelbase reduced from 3,750 to 3,400 mm, was marketed for the first time. With a displacement of 6.3 liters, the single-acting six-cylinder engine of the 630 K developed 160 hp with the Roots supercharger connected (at full throttle) and, under these conditions, the 630 K could boast of being the fastest production car in the world, with a top speed of over 145 km/h (90 mph). Reserved for a clientele of wealthy connoisseurs, the Model K was produced in limited series: only 267 examples were completed between 1926 and 1932, all versions together. In Germany, these chassis were often bodied by Erdmann & Rossi, Reuter, Papler, Zschau and Balzer, while others received "factory" bodies built in Sindelfingen. Some chassis were exported to the USA, where they were bodied locally, but the rarest K models were those bodied in Italy by Stabilimenti Farina and Castagna. The latter company bodied a handful of K models, including this magnificent coupé-chauffeur presented here. Located in Milan, Carrozzeria Castagna was founded in the mid-19th century when Carlo Castagna took over the horse-drawn carriage factory from his former boss, Mr. Ferrari. With the advent of motor vehicles, Castagna turned to bodywork and specialized in chassis for prestigious brands such as Isotta Fraschini, Mercedes-Benz, Hispano-Suiza, Daimler, Lancia, Duesenberg and Alfa Romeo. In 1920, Castagna was the largest coachbuilder in Italy, with some 400 employees. But the collapse of the U.S. economy in the early 1930s and the closure of Isotta Fraschini dealt a severe blow to Castagna, which lost its largest market and, at the same time, its biggest customer. The company went into decline and bodied its last cars in the early 1950s, but recovered in the mid-1990s and is still in operation today. The car's first owner was Charles Murray of Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, a wealthy oil producer and developer who ordered the chassis in 1927 and had it transported from the Stuttgart factory to Milan. The Model K cost $28,000, about the equivalent of five Cadillacs bodied by Fleetwood. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Charles Murray and his wife Marion were living in New York at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where they occupied a penthouse suite with their daughter. They hired a German chauffeur to drive this Model K, which would cause quite a stir when it appeared in the city. When the Murrays moved to Tulsa, the Mercedes came with them and remained in the family until their daughter's death in 1964. The following year, the Model K was sold to Dr. Charles Eads of Tulsa, who, along with his mechanic, restored it, a process that involved painting it in the original livery, dark brown with olive green wings, and new upholstery in a more restrained style. Dr. Eads kept the car for three years, during which time it won several awards.
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Twin-grille 1937 Lincoln ZephyrIf the acclaimed first-generation Lincoln Zephyr had a weakness, it was its V-12 engine. Sharing many design elements with Ford's flathead V-8, the 75-degree H-series V-12 had a narrow design that kept its displacement low and its water passages small, as well as the flathead engine's exhaust ducts running through the block and water jackets, which often led to overheating. Illinois-based inventor Willard L. Morrison could do little about the engine design, but instead believed he could improve the Zephyr's cooling by adding a second grille to the front of the car. Next
1955 Imperial ConvertibleSee production figures for the 1955 Chrysler Imperial. The total, including two-door hardtops, four-door hardtops, four-door sedans and four-door limousines, is 11,430. The number of Imperial convertibles is 0. But you could say it's 1. The one we'll talk about is the prototype commissioned by Chrysler Chairman K.T. Keller. Designed and built by Chrysler Central Engineering, the concept car was created from an off-the-shelf New Yorker convertible. In addition to its roofless body, Keller's Imperial featured numerous exterior and interior design details. The end result was impressive and Chrysler put it to promotional use for a year before selling it to a private individual. |
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