Mercedes Benz 320A cabrio
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Year of Manufacture: 1938
Power: 78 hp
Displacement: 3,207 cm3
Number of Cylinders/Valves: 6/2
Weight: 1,900 kg
Condition: excellent
Catalogue Number: 76
History
In the mid-1930s, Stuttgart faced a problem. There was no sufficiently representative six-cylinder model to effectively bridge the mostly four-cylinder mid-range models with the top eight-cylinder series. The market offered premium models 500 K, 540 K, and 770 K, but they were very expensive and inaccessible to many customers.
The 290 series existed but had become somewhat outdated since 1933 and offered limited performance. Moreover, there was a need to develop an engine that could run on synthetic gasoline made from coal. Germany had no access to crude oil and was preparing for this fuel alternative.
Therefore, at the Berlin Motor Show in 1937, the new Mercedes-Benz 320 model, internally designated W142 with a six-cylinder engine, was introduced. It was eventually produced in all possible body variations.
Technical Specifications
The engine had a displacement of 3,207 cm3. It was an inline six-cylinder with an overhead valve (SV) configuration. Maximum power was 78 hp. The engine ran at 4,000 rpm and produced 220 Nm of torque at 1,700 rpm, achieving a top speed of 130 km/h. The engine was traditionally mounted at the front and drove the rear wheels. The transmission was a synchronized four-speed gearbox. Brakes were hydraulic drum brakes with a booster on all four wheels.
The chassis was of a classic frame design, with transverse control arms and transverse leaf springs in front, and a swing axle (half-shafts) with coil springs at the rear.
The Mercedes-Benz 320 (W142) was available with two wheelbase lengths: a standard 3,300 mm and a shortened 2,880 mm, with the longer wheelbase being by far the more successful commercially. The chassis was a modification of the older W18 design, whose roots date back to the 1920s W11 series. An immense number of body variants and custom coachwork were built on both chassis types, some of them unique. The chassis also served as the basis for a military off-road vehicle.
Production
The Mercedes-Benz 320 was produced in four series between 1937 and 1942. Series I, II, and III, produced until 1939, had the engine and wheelbases described above. The fourth series received a larger 3.4-liter engine but retained the same power output.
Approximately 7,000 units of the MB 320 were produced in total, of which about 1,800 were for military use.
This Mercedes model also holds a significant place in history. It was in a Mercedes-Benz 320 Cabriolet B (two-door, four-seat car) on May 27, 1942, that the Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich was riding when Czechoslovak paratroopers carried out an assassination attempt on him.
The car in our collection is a classic “A” type cabriolet, meaning a 2+1 seating configuration on the short wheelbase. The restoration was performed from an incomplete wreck of the original vehicle, and today it is in excellent, fully operational condition and is a true highlight of our collection.
