Promoters of classic car displays anywhere in the world would be thrilled at the prospect of fielding just one Mercedes-Benz 500/540K, so how would they react at the sight, on the lush surrounds of a Brisbane football ground, of not only one but three of these extraordinary cars all on show together?
Well, that’s exactly what punters were treated to at the Mercedes-Benz Club of Queensland’s 50th Anniversary Concours d’Elegance, where members responded with an array of over 100 cars dating back more than a century.
Responsible for 21 of an astonishing 60 cars presented for judging in the outright Concours class was Brisbane-based entrepreneur and car collector Clive Palmer. In the early hours of September 14, Palmer and his team had cautiously driven most of the assembled collection from their storage facilities to the lawns of Norths Rugby Club in suburban Wavell Heights.
Oldest of the cars on display was a 1911 Mercedes 50hp Tourer, described by its owner as a “rival for the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost”, while two of the more recent behemoths had also been plucked from Palmer’s ‘Motorama’ collection.
One was a Maybach S650 with a 6.0-litre, 12-cylinder engine and electronic everything. Matching the Maybach for presence was a Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman with extended wheelbase, suspension to rival the newer car’s AIRMATIC ride quality and seating for seven.
Other rarities battling for honours in various Concours categories included a 300D ‘Adenauer’ sedan, which in its day was the largest European car to feature four-door pillarless styling.
More modern but equally compelling to phone-toting Concours visitors was the Limited Edition 350SL ‘Night Edition’ with its distinctive matt black paintwork. At release in 2010, these cars cost over $250,000 and this is one of just 25 allocated to Australia.
Also in the running for SL category honours was a pair of elegant ‘Pagoda Top’ two-doors and a 300SL Gullwing coupe in brutish black – another exceptional car from the Clive Palmer collection.
Occupying the outer carpark but still attracting curious eyes were the Display Class cars. These ranged in age from the early 1960s to current models and all were used regularly by Club members.
Not all were prepared to the same standard as the Outright cars inside the barriers but there were plenty of recently polished panels and freshly washed engines to catch the judges’ eye.
In the Concours arena, exhibitor and visitor eyes were inevitably attracted by the trio of black painted cars with K for ‘Kompressor’ signifying that they were supercharged.
Despite Germany suffering financial hardship due to the Great Depression, buyers still existed in Europe and the USA for high-value cars like these.
A US-published Collector Car Guide from the 1990s put total production of 500K chassis at 354 units, with 419 of the more powerful 540K produced from 1936-39. The price in 1939 of a 540K with unspecified bodywork was quoted at US$12,000.
Fifty years later, a cabriolet in Show condition had grown in value to US$700,000 while a coachbuilt Roadster was able to top $1.5 million. Those values in today’s market could be multiplied several times over.
A long way down the price scale from these Thirties-era exotics but still radiating pride of ownership was an almost complete range of later E- and S-Class cars including a scarce E220 Cabriolet.
The bigger S-Class sedans and coupes from the 1980s were aligned on opposite sides of a broad lawn from the smaller ‘Compact’ models, allowing visitors the chance to spot detail differences between cars of similar shape.
Sports cars dating from the long line of SL (‘Super Light’) models ranged from a bright red 190SL to a more recent SLS super coupe. A car like this was the outright GT car winner of the 2013 Bathurst 12 Hour endurance race.
As lunchtime approached, judges in flowing white coats were still squeezing between tightly packed cars, glancing from one to another trying to split the difference between exhibits of almost equal quality.
We need to wait a little while longer for the results to be ratified by the Mercedes-Benz Club of Queensland’s Committee, but in the meantime Retro Rides readers might like to examine our photographs and decide which of the cars gathered to celebrate this special event would be their favourite.
