A spectacular Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster has walked away with the coveted title of ‘Best of Show’ at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, making it the 10th Mercedes-Benz to take out the prestigious award that has been given every year since 1950.
This 540 K Special Roadster was ordered in May 1937 by Mohammed Zahir Shah, then King of Afghanistan. It was delivered in September and owned by the king until he gifted it to his son-in-law in the UK in 1950. It was then sold to a U.S. collector in 1953 and to this date, has only had five changes of ownership. The current owner splurged $9.9 million on the car at an auction during last year’s Pebble Beach event.
Since the current owner purchased the car, it underwent a comprehensive restoration thanks to RM Auto Restoration in cooperation with the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center. The car now has a comprehensive report from Mercedes-Benz Classic that provides a timeline of the car’s history while also detailing every detail restored over the past year.
The current owner, Jim Patterson, has a comprehensive collection of classic cars and won Best of Show at Pebble Beach in 2010 with his Delage D8 S de Villars Roadster and in 2015 with his Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Worblaufen Cabriolet.
Read: Classic 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster Sells For $9.9 Million
“The 540 K Special Roadster winning the ‘Best of Showʼ title at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance crowns the immense commitment of RM Auto Restoration and Mercedes-Benz Heritage to the restoration of this outstanding vehicle,” Mercedes-Benz Heritage boss Marcus Breitschwerdt said after the win. “We are proud to have contributed to this success story with the unique expertise of our Classic Center and the archives. The intensive and good cooperation with RM Auto Restoration during the past months has made this success possible.”
