When a New Jersey auto dealer called up Mercedes to order parts
for a vintage car he was repairing, they asked for the vehicle’s serial
number.
Zenop Tuncer was shocked to hear the company reply: ‘That’s Hitler’s car.’The 1942 Mercedes 320 Cabriolet D was part of a fleet built for senior officers of the Third Reich during the Second World War. While the model which ended up being repaired in Edgewater, New Jersey was probably not flashy enough to be driven by the Führer himself, it is likely to have belonged to one of his generals.
Mr Tuncer found the car while searching on eBay on behalf of a customer, property developer Fred Daibes, according to the New York Times. Mr Daibes bought it for around $180,000 – but when he saw the unusual four-door convertible, he assumed it must be a fake. However, Mercedes confirmed that the bizarre car was genuine, and was one of just eight made specially for Nazi officials.
The best-known of the modified Mercedes 320s was one driven by Gestapo chief Reinhard Heydrich, which was written off after being struck by a bomb during a failed assassination attempt.
Nonetheless, according to Mr Tuncer, the vehicle still shows signs of its disquieting origins – a patch on the fender was apparently an attempt to remove the Nazi flag from the car. The sinister Mercedes made its way to New Jersey via Chicago thanks to an enterprising American sailor, according to to Mr Daibes.
The Navy veteran apparently painted the car black to enable him to smuggle it across the Atlantic. He then kept it in his basement for decades before his grandson sold it to Mr Daibes.
The vehicle still runs well, though its engine generates jsut 80 horsepower, with a top speed of no more than 80mph.
Its new owner has already turned down an offer of $1.5million for his unique Mercedes – and says he plans to hang on to the extraordinary find.
Zenop Tuncer was shocked to hear the company reply: ‘That’s Hitler’s car.’The 1942 Mercedes 320 Cabriolet D was part of a fleet built for senior officers of the Third Reich during the Second World War. While the model which ended up being repaired in Edgewater, New Jersey was probably not flashy enough to be driven by the Führer himself, it is likely to have belonged to one of his generals.
Mr Tuncer found the car while searching on eBay on behalf of a customer, property developer Fred Daibes, according to the New York Times. Mr Daibes bought it for around $180,000 – but when he saw the unusual four-door convertible, he assumed it must be a fake. However, Mercedes confirmed that the bizarre car was genuine, and was one of just eight made specially for Nazi officials.
The best-known of the modified Mercedes 320s was one driven by Gestapo chief Reinhard Heydrich, which was written off after being struck by a bomb during a failed assassination attempt.
An expert from Mercedes’ headquarters in Germany said that the car
would almost certainly not have been used by Hitler, who drove a ‘top of
the line’ Mercedes 770.
Nonetheless, according to Mr Tuncer, the vehicle still shows signs of its disquieting origins – a patch on the fender was apparently an attempt to remove the Nazi flag from the car. The sinister Mercedes made its way to New Jersey via Chicago thanks to an enterprising American sailor, according to to Mr Daibes.
The Navy veteran apparently painted the car black to enable him to smuggle it across the Atlantic. He then kept it in his basement for decades before his grandson sold it to Mr Daibes.
The vehicle still runs well, though its engine generates jsut 80 horsepower, with a top speed of no more than 80mph.
Its new owner has already turned down an offer of $1.5million for his unique Mercedes – and says he plans to hang on to the extraordinary find.
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