1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Streamliner

The Mercedes-Benz 540K (W29) is a car built by the German firm Mercedes-Benz from 1936 to 1940.

The Mercedes-Benz 540 K Streamliner is an important piece of history for the automaker. This is a car that was created as a one-off back in 1938, and it was a technical masterpiece for Benz. An aluminum bodied machine that was able to cut through the wind thanks to its supercharged 5.4-liter straight-eight engine. The goal was a blend of speed and luxury, and the super-smooth 540K was exactly that, yet it never got a chance to shine because the world broke out into war.

The 540K wound up as a tire-company test machine before it disappeared. Mercedes-Benz found the car, and set about restoring it to its former glory. That required nearly 5,000 hours of work, but it was a labor of love for the automaker.

Even without the supercharger, the 84-year-old Streamliner was able to hit an impressive 167.97 km/h. Then it was time to measure its performance with the supercharger. The Roots-type supercharger could only be activated for a minute at a time, but it was enough: with a top speed of 185.57 km/h, the 540 K Streamliner achieved the speed its design engineers had envisaged back in 1938.