Three Mercedes-Benz Hitler cars on sale for $9 million [w/VIDEO]

Jonny Lieberman — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Europe, Mercedes-Benz, Specialty

Hitler's Mercedes-Benz G4 W-131 Radio Car - click above image for hi-res gallery

Got $9,000,000 burning a hole in your pocket? If so, have we got an offer for you. Not one, not two, but three Mercedes-Benz G4 W-131 six-wheelers are up for grabs. Interesting, the cars have been appraised at $3.3 million each, so $9 million is basically a million dollars off! There is one catch, however. You're going to have to forever be explaining to people why you spend nine million bucks on three of Hitler's old cars.

Yes, that Hitler. Who, despite his innumerable faults, did in fact have great taste in cars. Not only did Der Fuhrer typically ride around in the oh-so-beautiful Mercedes-Benz 540K, but he instructed Ferdinand Porsche to go on and steal the Tatra T97 from the Czechs, turning the design into the Volkswagen Beetle. When Dr. Porsche voiced his concern about a Tatra lawsuit, Hitler reassured the good doctor that he'd "settle the matter," which Hitler did by invading Czechoslovakia. Curiously, good taste in cars seems to be a trait shared with other scumbag genocidal dictators -- Idi Amin owned seven Citroen SMs!

The three Mercedes up for sale are three of eight Hitler-owned G4s, that were stashed around Deutschland at his various castles. Only fifty-seven G4 W-131s were ever made, total. Here we have a convertible parade car for Hitler and Eva Braun (blue), a luggage car that could quickly be converted into an ambulance (gray) and a radio car so Hitler could order the invasion of Yugoslavia whenever the mood struck his fancy (black). The cars have six-wheels and are quite truckish because Hitler spent a lot of time rolling through the bombed out streets of cities he'd just blitzkrieged.

The three G4 W-131s actually do have some nifty Nazi tech, like 5.0 or 5.4-liter straight eight motors shared (though not supercharged) with the aforementioned 540K, four driven rear wheels with locking diffs and self sealing tires. And both the luggage car and radio car are (probably) the only examples ever built. Furthermore, the luggage car was used in Hogan's Heroes. However, how you'd ever get past the stigma of the original owner is beyond us. Video after the jump.

Gallery: Adolf Hitler Mercedes-Benz G4 W-131

[Source: World War Cars via KREM]

Continue reading Three Mercedes-Benz Hitler cars on sale for $9 million [w/VIDEO]

Three Mercedes-Benz Hitler cars on sale for $9 million [w/VIDEO] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: F1's Ecclestone ripped for Hitler comments

Chris Paukert — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:29:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, UK, Celebrities

For such a distinguished and high profile institution, Formula One looks more and more like some sort of pro wrestling outfit by the day - and much of that circus-like atmosphere can be traced to the sport's leadership. The latest development in the series is Bernie Ecclestone's Marge Schott-esque interview with London's The Times newspaper.

Over the weekend, an interview ran in which Ecclestone talked about his preference for "strong leaders," including people like former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher and Max Mosely. No problem there, but bringing up talk of Adolf Hitler in such contexts is generally frowned upon, particularly when saying things like "he got things done," but "In the end he got lost, so he wasn't a very good dictator."

Like Mosely, Ecclestone has never been a shrinking violet, and he's rarely been one to shy away from controversy. He famously once noted that women should wear white "like all other domestic appliances," a comment he revisited in The Times interview, suggesting that the utterance was a joke, only to follow it up with: "I would love to have a good lady race driver and preferably black and Jewish, too, but they might take maternity leave."

Ecclestone's comments have raised the hackles of a number of Jewish groups and politicians, who have called him "either an idiot or morally repulsive," chiding him for "a complete lack of judgment.

In a subsequent interview with Germany's Bild, the 78-year-old reportedly maintained that the furor his comments inspired were predicated on "a big misunderstanding," saying that: "It was never my intention to hurt the feelings of any community... many people in my closest circle of friends are Jewish." Thanks to everyone for the tips!

[Sources: The Associated Press via ESPN; Motorsport.com | Image: AFP/Getty]

REPORT: F1's Ecclestone ripped for Hitler comments originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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