Description
This is lot number 227 in the Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed sale on July 12th, please see the Bonhams website for full details.
• Original British delivery S-Type Mercedes
• Owned by a roster of prominent car enthusiasts and collectors
• In the present ownership since 1991
• Probably unique survivor of its sporting body
• Considerable potential for touring or show use
"Decades of experience in the building of sport cars of superior performance, the universally known high grade workmanship of the Benz-Mercedes Works and their masterly designs have contributed harmoniously to the creation of the Mercedes-Benz Sport model 'S', which may justly be described as the acme of motor car perfection" - The British Mercedes-Benz Ltd. advertisement.
The 'S' was created in a magical period for the company, shortly after the merger of Daimler and Benz, while Ferdinand Porsche was Chief Engineer. He built a powerful, yet versatile automobile - a true all- rounder, at home on the race track, at hill climbs and providing exhilarating driving for the road. The signature engineering feature was its 'on demand' Roots type supercharger, that only came into operation when the accelerator was fully depressed, boosting power output from 120 to 180 brake horsepower for a few glorious seconds!
Mercedes nestled the impressive 6. 8- litre power unit into a low- slung double dropped chassis, which was proudly adorned with a massive radiator. Contemporary photographs of the completely unclothed 'S' running gear show the model to be as beautiful, sporting and purposeful even before rakish coachwork was applied. In truly uncompromising fashion, the clearance between the engine and the bonnet was no more than an inch.
Mercedes debuted the cars at the opening meeting of the Nurburgring in 1927, where Caracciola set the tone with a class win, it would be the first of many laurels bestowed on the model. Quite simply, there wasn't anything to touch the Mercedes, but, as with its competitors, it faced an uphill struggle for sales as the depression set in and only 174 of these remarkable cars were ever built between 1927 and 1930.
Of the many books on the marque, one particularly detailed book on the 'S' was written by American Herbert Lozier in the 1960s, the apt title is 'The Car of Kings'...
The sheer importance of these Sporting Mercedes has ensured that they are well charted with histories supported by factory records, owner's clubs and heritage including prominent ownerships. Even among others of its kind, this example carries an exceptional chain of provenance, which begins in late 1928.
Commissioned under order 41569, chassis number 35985 fitted with engine number 72191 was delivered on 19th December 1928 to British Mercedes Ltd. London for a Mr. Harcourt-Smith of London and Cairo. This is presumed to be Sir Cecil Harcourt-Smith who was appointed envoy to Cairo in 1926. According to the commission sheet, the S was delivered with a Sindelfingen four-seater sports body, number 924 614. Although succinctly described and without detail, we are pleased to outline here that recent research has established that it was anything but a standard factory body.
The second known owner of the 'S' was the John Fitzroy, the 9th Duke of Grafton, who even while studying at Cambridge was active in motorsport. At the Inter Varsity trails in the spring of 1934, at just 20 years old, the young Duke campaigned the Mercedes in stripped down form sans its windscreen, hood and spare wheels, with Motorsport magazine depicting the Duke at speed in its May 1934 edition.
Analysing images of this car as raced by the Duke shows a long low touring body that is different from the higher sided Tourenwagens supplied by Mercedes/ Sindelfingen or those raced by the factory and sold as copies, the 'Rennwagen'. There are some very distinct characteristics, specifically the long front wings that extend beyond the bonnet line falling to the back of the scuttle and equipped with bulbous side lights on their tops. Both front and rear wings have a raised moulding to their edges. Twin spares are fitted to a shrouded tail, much like an SSK. The car can also be seen to have a radiator with the single enamel pointed star badge, only fitted to late S's and their successor the SS and SSKs.
These very specific features correlate as a perfect match to a recently discovered factory image of a Mercedes S delivered in late 1928, published here courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Classic. Marque historians are only aware of one of this style to have been pictured in period and this car is the only one known to survive today. On the right side of the bodywork is a long flat 'arm rest' type dip or notch, something that this car has always had. If one adds that the car in question is a right-hand drive example, shod with British Dunlop Cord tyres – most likely signifying UK delivery, it seems likely that this period image is indeed of the Harcourt-Smith, later Grafton, car. Interestingly, the annotation to the factory image is 'Typ SSK off Tourenwagen'. There is only one detail which differs from our knowledge of Harcourt-Smith's car, being that commission number 41659 was fitted with a large external filler, like the factory race cars, per Sindelfingen drawings dated 2nd October 1928, and remaining on the car today. It is surmised that perhaps the factory image shows the completed car prior to this addition. Critically, however, for its intrinsic value whether, or not, the image is of the Harcourt-Smith/ Grafton car, it confirms that the car retains original factory bodywork.
The Duke of Grafton's passion for motorsport was without doubt, and very sadly it would lead to his demise. At a mere 22 years of age he succumbed to injuries sustained while competing in the Limerick Grand Prix in his Bugatti. The Grafton Mercedes was advertised for sale in The Autocar on 16th October 1936 by London dealers Smith & Hunter Ltd. Described as "whole chassis recently overhauled and guaranteed 100mph".
According to the notes from Ronald Johnson, founder of the English Mercedes-Benz Club, it was purchased in 1939 by another very keen amateur racing driver, Robert Arbuthnot. Arbuthnot was evidently a man of impeccable taste who at the time was well known for competing in his ex-Hans Reusch Alfa Romeo 8C-35 that would subsequently be campaigned for many years by Dennis Poore.
In 1946 it was bought from Arbuthnot by serial Mercedes fanatic, Edward L. Mayer, who it is recorded would own more than 100 examples in his lifetime. In this period, it sadly lost its original long front wings, being replaced with 'cycle wings', and the rear ones being adapted to match. Johnson adds a further interesting detail that the 'S' has the uber-rare 18 fin elephant blower installed, which he links to either Arbuthnot or Mayer, both having had access to many of these cars in their day and the ability to have procured the best performance enhancing parts. However, it is perhaps also conceivable that this was supplied by the factory in period once they were introduced, as we know it to have been a very sporting Mercedes S.
Both Arbuthnot and Mayer cited this as one of their favourite cars and this is endorsed by the fact that despite all that passed through his hands, it was this car that he retained until his later years. By 1960, recognising his age, he looked for a suitable home for his much-loved car, whereupon it appeared on the radar of one of Britain's great pioneering collectors, C. W. Peter Hampton.
Hampton, with wealth stemming from the estate agency business we still know to this day as Hamptons, had ample resources to indulge his passion for cars, which he amassed at 'Spronketts', his home in Bolney, Sussex. Some of the finest motor cars graced his garages at some point, with the marques of Bugatti and Mercedes of particular interest.
Although Edward Mayer assured Hampton that the Mercedes was in fine fettle, from Peter's prolific correspondence after its acquisition, it was clear that it was anything but. He made numerous enquiries to those familiar with the model, including the factory to ensure that the right parts and practices were used in its rebuild. At this point its long known black paintwork was replaced with the factory racing colour for Mercedes of white.
A number of Hampton's cars were adapted due to a war time injury, and the S-Type was no exception. During the allied D-Day landings at Normandy in June 1944, Lieutenant Hampton of the 4th/ 7th Royal Dragoon Guards, Royal Armoured Corps were part of 8th Armoured Brigade and landed as part of the first wave on Gold Beach, using DD (Duplex Drive, but nicknamed Donald Duck) "swimming" tanks in support of 69th and 151st Infantry Brigades. Hampton would suffer life altering shrapnell wounds, severely damaging his left arm.
The S-Type, with its central gear change, was adapted to a right-hand change with its mechanism extended remotely to the right side of the car, and the handbrake to its outside. In doing so, its notched door was perhaps superfluous, and he had this side of the car filled in and the door removed, albeit retaining the door itself, which – crucially – remains with the car to this day.
Early on in Hampton's ownership, the car would be chosen by Matchbox as the basis for their Models of Yesteryear Mercedes S-Type, something that resides on many schoolboy's shelves to this day as well as those who have grown into collectors. Noted writer William 'Bill' Boddy would road test her for Motorsport magazine in 1975, reliving his own teenage experience of having been test driven in a 36/ 220. He concludes positively "
Essentially, though, it is a motor-car for the open road, a majestic way of going quickly for its own sake, and I must say I would dearly have liked to have seen Caracciola coping with the wet roads of that 1929 TT, in just such a 36/ 220. My sincere thanks are due to Peter Hampton, that arch-enthusiast for cars of all ages and types, for enabling me to recapture the magic and mystique of this great vintage motor-car."
Peter Hampton died in 1991 and the subsequent sale of his cars – conducted by BROOKS, whose DNA lives on in Bonhams today – was one of the greatest motor car auctions of all time. In true Robert Brooks' style it was an encore to his legendary Royal Albert Hall sale, with the auction at a singularly appropriate Summer venue, Lords Cricket Ground. The magnetism and sheer calibre of this great collection attracted world-wide participation. Interestingly it would be two brothers from the British Isles who would secure the two most valuable Mercedes' – indeed, the two most valuable Lots sold that day – from the Hampton sale, Tom Scott Senior acquiring this car and his brother the mythical 1903 60hp. In 33 years of Scott ownership, the 'S' has been exercised with some regularity although lLatterly its use has been more modest leading the sale of this and others today.
Viewed today, although missing its typenschild, all of its correct factory stampings remain in place, on the chassis in two places, and on the engine, its number and the batch numbers can be found in numerous places as well as on the gearbox and back axle. The aforementioned distinctive notched door accompanies the car, and while a plate attached to it appears to be a later replacement, it carries the correct Sindelfingen body number – a number that could only have been accessed by very few and was likely replicated during its 1960s restoration from the original piece. After a few years on blocks, the Mercedes was recommissioned by the skilled technicians at Jim Stokes esteemed workshops just along the coast from Goodwood.
The Daimler-Benz brand needs no introduction – it lays claim to the creation of the automobile and 138 years later it remains the most coveted of all. Along that journey there are a handful of landmark cars, and the supercharged sports tourers of the 1920s are undeniably one of them. Their importance and indeed sporting characteristics may sometimes be overlooked, but the world was refreshed last year when an unprecedented class was assembled at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. A subsequent tour in the beautiful countryside north of Monterey proved so popular that it is likely to become a biannual International event.
This incredible example can boast original coachwork and matching numbers and a continuous history with a chain of six high profile owners. As such, this high-performance, unique and rakish Mercedes offers enormous potential for the next custodian to experience these legendary Kompressor cars and if so wished, the opportunity for a straight-forward refurbishment back to its stunning original guise.
Please click here for the printed catalogue presentation.
Please click here to view Octane Magazine article.
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