Description
Mercedes-Benz Nürburg 460 K Cabriolet A (W08) 1928.
We have for sale possibly the only example of two seats built by Mercedes Benz in 1928, W08, (w28) engineered and designed by Ferdinand Pòrsche, this exclusive 460 short "K" cabriolet "A" two-seater and body 8-cylinder engine 4. 600 cc 80HP Cabriolet is the authentic esquisited of the time, fully restored in Germany by experts of the brand, all the details have been rebuilt, a real Jewel that will be on sale for a short period of time.
The car was developed by Ferdinand Porsche, who had transferred to Daimler from the firm’s Austrian affiliate in 1923. Porsche was the board member with responsibility for new product development. The company’s objective with the new eight cylinder Mercedes-Benz was to come up with a serious competitor to the Horch 8, and Porsche’s work on the new car appears to have been very rushed.[4] The result was a car with a traditional “overslung” (“Hochbett”) chassis with the longitudinal chassis members directly above the axles, at a time when newer designs increasingly favored “underslung” (“Tiefbett”) chassis layouts on which the axles sat directly above the load bearing chassis beams. The 1928 Mercedes-Benz W08 therefore looked unfashionably tall even at the time of its launch.
The engine was a 4, 622cc straight-8 side-valve unit for which maximum output was given as 80 PS (59 kW; 79 hp) at 3, 400 rpm which translated into a top speed of 100 km/ h (62 mph). The wheels were suspended from rigid axles supported by semi-elliptical leaf springs at the front and at the back. Braking applied on all four wheels using a mechanical linkage supported by a Bosch-Dewandre vacuum suction device.[5]
The car was close in size to the Horch 8 which had effectively been benchmarked for its design. The 1928 “Pullman-Limousine” bodied version of the Horch came with an overall length of 5, 000 mm (200 in) and a weight of 2, 100 kg (bare chassis weight 1400 kg). The 1928 “Pullman-Limousine” bodied version of the Mercedes-Benz Nürburg 460 was 4, 890 mm (193 in) long which increased to 5, 200 mm (200 in) when the detachable rear boot/ trunk was added: the Mercedes weighed in at 2, 150 kg (bare chassis weight 1550 kg).[6] Both cars had an imposing height in this standard bodied form of 1, 900 mm (75 in) even though the Horch had since its 1926 launch incorporated an “underlung” chassis. The cars’ respective widths were 1, 765 mm (69. 5 in) and 1, 760 mm (69 in).[7]
In addition to the “Pullman-Limousine” bodied car, priced by Mercedes-Benz at 15, 000 Marks, buyers of the 1928 W08 could choose a Torpedo bodied 6 seater “Tourenwagen” for 14, 000 Marks or a 4-door “Cabriolet D” for 17, 500 Marks.[8] There is also mention of a reduced wheelbase 2-door cabriolet, although it is not clear whether any of these were produced based on the 1928 W 08.
The big old fashioned and very expensive Mercedes-Benz W08 of 1928 found few customers, and had to be replaced the next year with a more stylish version, now using an “underslung” chassis. Technical Director Porsche’s contract was not renewed at the end of 1928 which was followed by two years of acrimonious litigation between the company and its former Technical Director, while there are reports that it took six years for Mercedes-Benz to sell off, at discounted prices, the already accumulated inventory of 1928 model Nürburg 460s.
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