| Built to order for the wealthiest and most demanding, the Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster was the flagship of the brand in the prewar years. Introduced in 1936, 26 540 K Special Roadsters were constructed before the Second World War brought car construction to a halt, and of these, only a handful were originally exported to the United States. One such car sold for $9.9 million in 2016. |
 | The car of Baroness Gisela von Krieger, the only daughter of an aristocratic German family brought $11,770,000 in 2012. |
 | The straight-eight, OHV, twin-carburetted 540K displaced 5401cc, with a Roots-type supercharger (“K” stood for Kompressor) engaged mechanically with the throttle pedal. 180 horsepower was offered from 1936 to 1938.  Transmission was a semi-automatic 4-speed, and the 540K’s hydraulic drum brakes were servo-assisted. |
