A 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet A and a 1938 “The French Connection” Lincoln Coddington V12 HEMI are stars of the 2016 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale sale. These two magnificent prewar automobiles will be among the highlights of a nine-day celebration of Barrett-Jackson’s 45th anniversary at the Scottsdale, Arizona, classic car auctions in January 2016.
2016 Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Scottsdale Auctions
Barrett-Jackson has trademarked “The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auctions” and its annual Scottsdale auction extravaganzas explain why. In 2015, the Barret-Jackson Scottsdale auction alone attracted over 350,000 spectators on site in Arizona plus millions more via television broadcasts.
From January 23 to 31, 2016, Barrett-Jackson will host nine-days of collector car auctions and events at WestWorld of Scottsdale to celebrate the company’s 45-year anniversary. Over 1,500 cars will be offered for sale including two spectacularly beautiful pre-Second World War automobiles: a 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet A and the “The French Connection,” a 1938 Lincoln Coddington V12 HEMI.
1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet A
One of the highlights of the 2016 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale classic car auction will undoubtedly be a 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet A. Mercedes Benz built only around 400 of the 540K cars during the 1930s and only five were built in this particular specification of the Cabriolet A.
This 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet A originally belonged to German Field Marshall Erhard Milch but was sold after the war in Switzerland. Since a full restoration in 1982, the car has mostly been inside museums, including the Count Leiningen-Hartenburg Museum in Baden, Germany, and the Kemp Auto Museum. The body, frame, driveline and supercharger are all original to the car.
In recent years, the 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet A has won several awards, including Most Significant Mercedes-Benz at the 2008 Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance, Mercedes-Benz Star of Excellence at the 2009 Amelia Island Concours and Best in Class, European Class Pre-War at the 2011 Amelia Island Concours.
Barrett-Jackson has not released an estimate for the 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet A but Bonhams sold a 1938 Mercedes Benz 540 K Cabriolet A for €2,760,000 at the 2015 Mercedes Benz Museum sale in Stuttgart, Germany, and a 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500/540 K Cabriolet A by Sindelfingen achieved $3 million at the RM Sotheby’s 2015 Amelia Island sale.
1938 Lincoln Coddington V12 HEMI, “The French Connection”
A 1938 Lincoln Coddington V12 HEMI, “The French Connection,” will be another 1930s feature car at the 2016 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale classic car auctions. This one-off, custom-made car resembles a 1937 Delahaye and was the last car built by Boyd Coddington.
The lovely French-inspired body is hand-formed aluminum by Marcel and sits atop top a custom, one-off Art Morrison chassis. The car has a powerful Italian-made 12.8-liter, all-aluminum HEMI-headed V12 BPM motor and a custom-built Turbo 400 3-speed automatic transmission.
The stylish interior is made from 15 full ostrich skins and two full cowhides. It is complemented by a set of custom-made fitted luggage.
In 2015, Barrett-Jackson surprised with a $4-million 1950 General Motors Futurelines Parade of Progress Tour Bus and a $3-3-million 1954 Pontiac Bonneville Special Motorama Concept Car. The 1938 Lincoln Coddington V12 HEMI, “The French Connection” should achieve another top result in 2016.
