Supercharged Mercedes In Detail: 1923 - 1942

Among the rarest and most exciting classic cars are the supercharged Mercedes cars of the 1920s and 1930s, exemplified by the fire-breathing S, SS, SSK and SSKL models with their supercharged 7-litre engines, and their exceedingly glamorous, though softer and less stark, 500K and 540K cars which succeeded them in the mid-1930s. All of the models, going back to 1923 and on to the construction of the last mighty 770K in 1942, and the long, pioneering history of supercharging by Mercedes, are described here, including the cars designed by Ferdinand Porsche between 1924 and 1928 and the road-racing exploits of star drivers like Rudolf Carracciola. With 100 color photographs of surviving examples, and 150 black-and-white pictures from the archives, Supercharged Mercedes in Detail describes all about a remarkable family of motor cars, rarely ever seen yet universally admired.