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Party animal King Farouk's Mercedes 540K


HistoryBuff

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I found pictures of this car restored in a South Africa museum. On the net on Flicker.com I found this description of its discovery:

Website full article, no pictures; http://www.flickr.com/photos/askamel/788950544/

"The car was subsequently bought

by the German government - the "Fhrer" (MS--Ed.) Adolf Hitler needed

an appropriate present for King Farouk I of Egypt's wedding on 20th

January 1938. Far from being just a personal gift, this served to

showcase Germany's engineering abilities: "a first-rate sports

Cabriolet, the best, most attractive and most precise car manufactured

in the entire world." To fit in with its more than 100 stable

mates in the King's fleet of cars, the car's colour was changed to a

dark shade of red, as red was the colour of choice on the King's cars.

He even went as far as issuing a decree outlawing red cars in his

country so that the only red vehicles in Egypt were immediately

recognised as royal. At the same time the 540 K received a special and

unique dashboard layout and a contrasting beige leather interior with

a matching hood. Although the King was forced to abdicate in 1952 and

spent the rest of his life in exile in Monaco and Italy, the car

remained untouched in Cairo until 1988. A French collector purchased

169387 at auction and stored it in a barn in France. At this time the

car still had not been touched and was in remarkably original and

authentic condition, still retaining its original engine. In 1996 the

car's specialist restorers were asked to inspect the car in France

and, after thoroughly inspecting the car and realising its importance

and potential, brought it back to Germany where they embarked on a

painstaking restoration."

This site, from the Museum, has good pictures, enough to see I don't like the white parts of the dashboard or white convertible top http://www.fmm.co.za/dt_portfolio/mercedes-benz-540k-cabriolet/

I was wondering if anyone ever read what the French collector bought it for at auction, who was selling it and what he sold it for in 1996. I think Farouk fled Egypt in'51 or '52 so I wonder how much of his booty he brought with him.

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