Autobahnkurier

[Des]

"Autobahnkurier" (Motorway Courier)

The "Autobahnkurier" epitomized modernity on wheels and was a symbol for overcoming distances at high speed and in excellent comfort. This vehicle was used by its first owner, a Spanish eye specialist, to travel in North Africa and later for frequent trips between Spain and Switzerland.

Year of manufacture: 1938

Engine: 8 cylinder (inline), gasoline engine with compressor charging

Displacement: 5401 cm3

Output: 115 hp (85 kW) at 3400 rpm, with compressor 180 hp (132 kW)

Maximum speed: 170 km/h

Quantity: 419 (all variants of 540 K)

Production period 1936 to 1939 (all variants of 540 K)

[Des]

more:

[Des]

more:

[volker]

Actually it should be "Der" Autobahnkurier.
Anyway, nice car.
They made a similar body style also for the 320 model.

[alsancle]

Is this the one that came out of Spain?  If so, it was owned by one family for a very long time.  Beautiful car.  The price it was rumored to change hands at was Special Roadster money and more.   My only question was why the trafficators were not flush with the body?  On a streamliner you would think that would be one of the first things you would do.

[Des]

My only question was why the trafficators were not flush with the body?  On a streamliner you would think that would be one of the first things you would do.

I agree, you would think they would be set back in the bodywork

[CraigS]

I think this is the 320 from the Mercedes-Benz museum

[vorkriegsmercedes]

Is this the one that came out of Spain?  If so, it was owned by one family for a very long time.  Beautiful car.  The price it was rumored to change hands at was Special Roadster money and more.   My only question was why the trafficators were not flush with the body?  On a streamliner you would think that would be one of the first things you would do.

Hello A.J

Yes this   is the car from Spain.

In 1938 ordered the Spanish eye specialist Ignacio Barraquer the 540K .


The car is in the Kommissonbooks written as Innenlenker Sonderausführung  under Auftragnummer 288557, Fabriknummer 408336, the name Autobahn-Kurier is here not mentioned, which is interesting.
The car was ordered on 13 /9/1938 and delivered in October the same year with as delivery place written Gibraltar, that was 1000km from the place of Barraquer Barcelona.

Die Barraquers , the Doctor and his wife traveled with the car directly from Gibraltar through Marroko and  Northafrica, the way back to home was going by ship from Alexandria to Spain.

In the fifties ordered Barraquer a new car and replaced the 540K Autobahn-Kurier by an Mercedes-Benz 300 S, but the 540K stays in the family over 50 years.

A collector from Mexico Arturo Keller became the son of Barraquer Joachim so far that he could buy this very rare car.

Now freshly restored the car won the first price at Concorso d 'Eleganza Vila d' Este.

[Johan]

I think the 320 Autobahnkurier was sold new in Sweden. The bodywork of these cars is very good looking.
 
Arturo Keller has a VERY nice collection. I went to the UK some years ago to look at his Austro-Daimler Prinz Heinrich 1913 (Porsches first racecar) when it was undergoing restoration. A very good original car but the cost of restoring it was very high anyway. We payed the equivalent of 50 Euros for our Prinz Heinrich engine....

[vorkriegsmercedes]

Hello , the 320 is indeed a very nice car, but it is not called an Autobahn-Kurier but Stromlinien-Limousine!

The car is from the museum , a shame that the speedoclock  gives the wrong numbers of 140 KM/h it must be 160 KM/h.

For a very rare and expensive car I would do the Restoration a little bit original er!  Hans

[vorkriegsmercedes]

Here a couple of photos of the 540K Autobahn-Kurier before the restoration!

I have photos of the car in Gibraltar and Northafrica with the chrome on the front mudguards.

We see the parts also on these photos, now is the car wonderful restored, but where is are the chroma parts now?

They are missing , what was the reason that the parts where removed ?

[Henry Magno]

The car was restored by Paul Russell. I doubt they would have removed them if they were original. They also must have had evidence that the original trafficators were external, because I know they went to great effort to get some Zeiss trafficators for the car. My bodyman was working for them when they restored the car so I'll ask him about the chrome.

[vorkriegsmercedes]

Hi Henry,

The restoration is superb , a great job with a wonderfull result!

I don't know the reason why they put not the chrom on the mudguards, maybe Paul Rusell thought that the chrom was not original, , the 500K Autobahn-Kurier what has his debut on the IAMA in 1934 has not the chrom, it could be possible that the owner not like the chrom parts also.
I have some photos of the car with Barraquer in Northafrica and Gibraltar with the chrom and indeed the external trafficators.

By the way I have not found any other 320n Combination Coupes , or photos of the cars, the only photos I found are from the Cabriolet A, I am sorry!

Hans

[Des]

Such a beautiful car,

[Des]

Great automotive design: Mercedes-Benz 500 K with "Autobanh-Kurier" bodywork, 1934.

[Des]

Fast looks even when stationary: Streamlined Mercedes-Benz 320 sedan, the motorway courier, 1938.

[Des]

Elegance at its best: Bodywork of the Mercedes-Benz motorway courier from the 1930s. The photo shows the 320 (1937 - 1938).

[Des]

Three historical milestones (from front to rear): Mercedes-Benz models 320n combination coupe (142 series, 1937-1942), 300 Sc coupe (188 series, 1955-1958) and 280 SE 3.5 coupe (108 series,1971-1972 ).

[Henry Magno]

I got to spend a day with the 320 streamlined sedan when it was on display for a month at the Lars Anderson Museum in Brookline MA. My brother and I were doing a photo shoot of it for an article in The Star. Unfortunately, due to some miscommunication between myself and Frank Barrett, he went ahead and had it photographed when it was shown at Meadowbrook Hall that summer, so I didn't get to do the article, after all.   In any case, we had some fun and I got to drive it, although only in the park where we were doing the shoot. I guess it wasn't registered for the road.

[Des]

Mercedes Benz returned in 1935 with an even more streamlined Autobahn-Kurier and the Berlin coachbuilders Erdmann & Rossi exhibited a flamboyant variation which attracted the attention of King Ghazi of Iraq. The 500k was delivered to him later that year.