Best Of Show

More about the book

If there was ever an automobile for high society during the 1930s, a car with haute couture that truly reflected a glamorous lifestyle, then it was this Mercedes-Benz 540K. No wonder that Mademoiselle Lucy Franchi, owner of the popular Parisian Bar Americain La Roulotte in Montmartre, decided to have this model. The young entrepreneur ordered her 540K styled with two-tone Cabriolet A coachwork and just four months later, she was able to chauffeur the latest musicians and jazz stars through the turbulent streets of Paris in those heady years - virtuoso greats like Edith Piaf numbered among them, alongside Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Django Reinhardt. Nevertheless, Lucy Franchi soon gave her luxury acquisition to her brother Pierre as a sublimely generous gift - a 540K as a token of appreciation for his support in her scintillating business ventures. This Mercedes-Benz with his history is for every car collector a unique automobile about which most can only dream. Finally, the author about the assessment at Mercedes-Benz Heritage GmbH: "An assessment is an important aspect in the classic car world. Why is it done when purchasing art and almost never with classic cars. The two most important factors when buying a classic car are, after all, a certificate of authenticity and the provenance, aren't they?" This book gives a solid description of that.