Pre-War Mercedes-Benz 710 SS Could Fetch $9 million At Rétromobile

The Rétromobile 2020 auction is on this weekend in Paris, and as you’d expect, it includes a wide array of jaw-dropping finds. The 166 lots include a bevy of pre- and post-war motorcycles and cars – with brands such as Talbot, Delahaye, Facel and many more – in varying degrees of condition and pricing, and even the first Ferrari Formula 1 car driven by Michael Schumacher. But one of the cars available stands out as among the most important and valuable Mercedes-Benz ever made, as reflected by the expected price.

Lot #45 is a 1929 Mercedes-Benz 710 SS, originally ordered as a rolling chassis by Mercedes-Benz of New York. After the chassis appeared at the 1930 New York Automobile Show, it was bought by a New York importer and sent back to Europe, where the famed coachbuilder Howard ‘Dutch’ Darrin, based in Paris, produced the open-topped sport touring body with flowing, elegant lines. Originally painted white, the 710 was sold to an American collector and subsequently went through a few hands before being fully restored and painted black.

What set the 710 SS apart from other cars of the era was that it sported a 7.065-litre inline-six supercharged engine that made 200hp, more than double and even triple most cars of the day. That kind of power gave this Mercedes-Benz an incredible top speed of around 140mph (225kph), astounding for the time. Only 111 cars were built with just a handful surviving today, and fewer still in such pristine condition.

Of course, that kind of rarity has a price; the estimated sale value is between €6 million to €8 million, or $6.5 million to $8.8 million.

*Images courtesy of Alex Penfold