HistoryBuff Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 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 boughtby the German government - the "Fhrer" (MS--Ed.) Adolf Hitler neededan appropriate present for King Farouk I of Egypt's wedding on 20thJanuary 1938. Far from being just a personal gift, this served toshowcase Germany's engineering abilities: "a first-rate sportsCabriolet, the best, most attractive and most precise car manufacturedin the entire world." To fit in with its more than 100 stablemates in the King's fleet of cars, the car's colour was changed to adark 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 hiscountry so that the only red vehicles in Egypt were immediatelyrecognised as royal. At the same time the 540 K received a special andunique dashboard layout and a contrasting beige leather interior witha matching hood. Although the King was forced to abdicate in 1952 andspent the rest of his life in exile in Monaco and Italy, the carremained untouched in Cairo until 1988. A French collector purchased169387 at auction and stored it in a barn in France. At this time thecar still had not been touched and was in remarkably original andauthentic condition, still retaining its original engine. In 1996 thecar's specialist restorers were asked to inspect the car in Franceand, after thoroughly inspecting the car and realising its importanceand potential, brought it back to Germany where they embarked on apainstaking 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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