Mercedes Benz 540 K Offener Tourenwagen 1938

This Mercedes 540 K was exhibited at Berlin Motorshow in 1938. It was the second design for the Offener Tourenwagen body type, a very ample open tourer car that had quite a lot of room for five people.
Very rarely seen on a German car is the hood that disappears completely when down. There is a metal cover over the folded-down hood. The bumpers are also not the ones usually seen on the 540 K model. Priced 22 000 RM in 1939, only twelve 540 K Offener tourenwagen were built and quite surprising, among them, one was sold by the Parisian agent to a French customer.

Je suis venu en Voisin...

This chauffeur is proudly standing in front of his Voisin C7 Lumineuse.

With a small 4 cylinder engine, rated 10 HP in France, the C7 was available from 1924. The "Lumineuse" body was created in 1925 and was very innovative by many aspects:

- the lightweight construction with aluminum panels

- The sliding windows
- A third headlight mounted on the right side and at the rear of the body. The idea was to improve the driving condition during night without dazzle other drivers.

The result was this Art deco style body that was sold quite well.

Lorraine

This chauffeur can be proud of his Lorraine-Dietrich. The car is bodied as a "Roi des Belges"tourer and seems to be ready for a long journey on the French roads.
Initially from Luneville close to Nancy, France, the headque-arter is moved to Paris 1905 and a second factory in founded in 1907 in Argenteuil.

The Lorraine was a car with a good reputation.
The last model of personal car was the 20 CV that was produced in the first half of the 30's.

Beute auto...

Between mid 1940 and the D-day in June 1944, the German troops occupied, first the North -West half of France and from November 1942 the whole country.
It now quite well known that during this period many paintings, sculptures and different antics were either stolen or, in few cases, bought but at a very low price. It is less known that many cars were also took by the German Army.
Of course the latest models were the first choice with a clear preference for American cars such as Packard, Buick, Cadillac... and also the French most desirable models with the Delahaye 135, Delage D8, Bugatti T57...
In the enclosed pictures, it is a more humble sport car, probably French that has been discovered in a barn by few soldiers.
We haven't been able to identify the manufacturer of this car. Is it a Derby, a Lombard, a Rally ?
We are waiting for your suggestions.