1931 MERCEDES BENZ “Grosser Mercedes” Cabriolet A (W07) 770

Vehicle Overview

After a two year development, Mercedes-Benz launched the “Grand Mercedes” at the end of 1930. It was the most luxurious vehicle offered by the German car-maker.

The Grosser Mercedes, or Grand Mercedes, W07 was intended to be the ultimate luxury and performance vehicle. The specialized publications from the era recorded that the car was safe to drive even at “breathtaking speeds of over 120 kph” (75 mph). The Grand Mercedes was offered with a supercharged or naturally aspirated engine.

The Cabriolet A was, in fact, a factory-supplied chassis with an engine without the supercharger. That was a rare model since only 13 vehicles without superchargers were built. Among the body assemblers who received bare chassis for completion was the small company Auer, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, with which Daimler had a long history before 1900. Auer designed an unusual cabriolet version for the naturally aspirated engine with two doors and two seats. Behind the doors, two hatches could have been opened to place luggage. In the back, the car featured two spare-wheels on the rear-end of the car. The 17” wheels were fitted with 8.25 x 17 low-pressure tires.

The car was sold by Mercedes-Benz as a bare chassis for the price of RM 29.500, after the RM 3000 reduction for not fitting the engine with a belt-driven supercharger. The chassis was supplied with an engine, a 4-speed manual gearbox, a two-speed transfer box, dashboard, and the windshield. The interior was fitted with individually selected materials.

Since those cabriolet versions were not designed and manufactured by the Mercedes-Benz, they were assigned with the “Cabriolet A” names.