Mercedes-Benz 170V (W136) Roadster (1936)

1939 Mercedes-Benz 170V (W136) Roadster

The Mercedes-Benz 170V (W136) was introduced in 1931. It was designed, developed, and priced to be an affordable car for middle class professionals. The 170V had multiple body styles and was available as either a four and two and 2 door sedan, four and two door cabriolet, limousine, roadster, pick up, and even as a van. The model quickly became Mercedes-Benz’s top selling car. About 70000 170V’s were sold before beginning WWII. Of those cars sold, 271 were roadsters.

The 170V model was powered by a 1.7L 4-cylinder motor which produced 38HP which was hooked up to a 4-speed manual transmission. A new developed oval tube X-frame resulted in a lighter weight for the car. The car featured 4-wheel independent suspension, hydraulic shock absorbers, and drum brakes.

Enough of the tooling for the 170V model survived Allied bombing that it became the foundation for rebuilding Mercedes-Benz after WWII. Production began 1947 and lasted until to 1955. During that period of time, the 170V again became Mercedes-Benz’s top selling cars with over 200000 cars sold.

This car is one of only eleven surviving 170V Roadsters. The current owner discovered the car in St Louis in 1974 and had it stored for 36 years. In 2010, he had the car completely restored by Magno Restorations. The car won ‘Best in Show’ at the Misselwood Concours in 2013 and ‘Best in Show’ at the Boston Cup in 2014.