The Mercedes-Benz 500K (W29) is a grand touring car built by Mercedes-Benz between 1934 and 1936. First shown at the 1934 Berlin Motor Show, it took the factory designation W29. Distinguished from the 500 sedan by the "K" for Kompressor (German for supercharger), only equipped for these performance cars, the Mercedes-Benz 380 was introduced just the previous year. It offered a larger, more powerful engine and a more opulent body to meet customer demands for greater luxury and performance.

Specifications

The 500K used the same independent suspension that had been introduced in the 380, with a double wishbone front axle, double articulated articulated axle at the rear, and separate wheel location, coil springs and damping, a first in the world. As a result, it was a more comfortable and better-handling car than the previous S / SS / SSK generation of the 1920s roadsters, and offered greater appeal to buyers, particularly the growing number of well-heeled drivers of the time. ]

Pressing the accelerator pedal fully activated the Roots compressor, inducing the eight-liter engine in a straight line to produce up to 160 horsepower (120 kW) and making the car capable of more than 160 kilometers per hour (100 mph) while consuming fuel at a rate of up to 30 l / 100 km (9.4 mpg-imp; 7.8 mpg-US) when doing so.

Three different chassis and eight bodies were available to customers; the two longer four-seat cabriolet versions "B" and "C" ran on a 3,290 mm (129.5 in) wheelbase and would later be used on other sedan and passenger car models. [1] The short "A" chassis, with a wheelbase of 2,980 mm (117.3 in), supported the two-seat models: the Motorway Courier and the 1936 Special Roadster that offered the highest performance .
All models featured advanced equipment such as safety glass, hydraulic brakes and a 12-volt electrical system sufficient to withstand the load of the electric windshield wipers, door locks and indicators.