During the late 1940s, Daimler-Benz AG began focusing on building another powerful, elegant limousine for the luxury market, something in the spirit of the pre-war 770K. The 300 had been on the drawing board since 1938, and a prototype Cabriolet was shown at the Frankfurt Auto Show in April 1951. Production of the four-door Limousines and Cabriolet d began that November and ran through 1962, with 11,430 cars built.

This production average of 1,000 cars a year was definitely low, so updates were phased in as required and logged in by chassis number, a common DGAB procedure then. When significant changes were made, the model designation changed. The original 300 (no letter) was built as a 1951 to 1954 model; the 300b was built for 1954 and 1955, and the 300c for 1955 through 1957, and the 300d for 1957 to 1962.

The 300 quickly became one of the leading prestige cars of its era, and standard-wheel-base cars were brought by Frank Lloyd Wright, Yul Brynner, Al Hirt, Prime Minister Nehru, and the Shah of Iran, to name just a few. Early Cabriolet D prices of around 25,000 DM (Which would have bought three Cadillacs) stretched to 35, 000 DM for the 300d version. These cars cost more than a 300Sc Roadster or a 300SL Roadster with hardtop.

Among the many heads of state, royalty, captains of industry, entertainers, and other prominent individuals who relied on these cars was West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. Even though his custom-bodied 300d limousine differed from the standard version in many ways – among them a higher roof and extended wheelbase- all 300s soon bore the nickname “Adenauer.” Continuing an already long Vatican-Stuttgart connection, Pope John XXIII’s specially-built 1960 300d Pullman-Landaulette had a closed front seat but a convertible top over a single, throne-like back seat. Even among 300 production cars, custom features were common.

Like certain other Mercedes-Benz models, the 300 was advertised and sold with different body style names in Germany and elsewhere. For the sake of marketing, the Limousine and the Cabriolet D in Germany became the more familiar sounding Hardtop and Convertible for the U.S. Elegant sales literature remains to the tell the story. The last of this upright, honorable line was the 300d. By the mid-1950s the original 300’s conservative styling and other modest features were showing their age. More and more 300s were being exported to the U.S., where the sweeping lines and driving comfort ranked high among buyers’ expectations. In August 1957, DBAG began building the totally updated 300d.

To provide more rear leg room and a smoother ride, the new model’s W189 chassis had a 3.9-inch longer wheelbase. In the American vogue, the Hardtop’s dramatic new roofline-with no visible center pillar-combined with removable rear quarter windows to create a pillarless panorama. The tiny horizontal taillights of the earlier cars were replaced by much larger and easier seen vertical lights in the almost-finned rear fenders. A one-piece front bumper replaced the earlier three-piece design.

Like earlier 300s, the 300d was built on an oval-tube X-shaped frame with independent front suspension by coil springs. Because they also used a rear swing-axle, varying loads significantly affected rear wheel camber, which in turn influenced driving stability. DBAG’s solution to keeping the rear wheels upright was a unique load leveler. Controlled by a dash switch, an electric motor on the rear chassis wound a jackscrew in or out to twist auxiliary torsion bars acting on each ear trailing arm to supplement the coil springs. This device was used on all four 300-series cars; the hydraulic self-leveling systems on later models were not as durable and lacked manual control.

The 1960 Mercedes-Benz 300d Adenauer featured here is finished in black and has an impeccably kept original beige interior with brown piping. This magnificent motorcar was just purchased in Southern California where a complete mechanical servicing was performed with over $27,000 spent. This exceptional 300d is among one of the finest examples we have had the pleasure of offering many years and is accompanied with its factory books, service records, recent receipts, build sheet, factory tools, and much more. We are proud to offer what we believe to be one of the very best Adenauers available on the market today. Classic cars have proven to be among the most resilient and rewarding investments in recent years with the Historic Automobile Group Index (HAGI) jumping 39% in 2013, 16% in 2014 and 17% in 2015 while posting gains of 467% over the last 10 years. Ready to make an investment you can actually enjoy? Please contact one of our expert sales consultants for more information. They will be happy to give you a complete walk-around, supply you with a more detailed description, and answer any questions you may have. Bid with confidence; this just might be one of the best finds on the market.