This article will tell the reader about the cult mode of transport of its era - Adolf Hitler's Mercedes, which traveled to different parts of the world, was lost, but eventually found.
What ruler now, and at any other time, did not want to demonstrate his superiority over others? Showing off their mansions, villas, exclusive cars, they seem to be a step above their colleagues. However, many want to show not just a luxurious thing, but highlight the fact that the manufacturer of this product is its country.
Mercedes-Benz 770K - this is the name of the main character of the article. Despite his "retirement" age, he traveled half the world: from Berlin to Tashkent, from Tashkent to Russia, and then back to Germany and then to Russia. How did it come about? Now you will find out what car Hitler, the dictator of the Third Reich, drove, the history of this vehicle.
History of Creation
Back in 1938, the model was introduced in Germany as a new generation car. It is worth noting that the heads of various states fell in love with the luxury car. The Reich Chancellor was also in love with the car. That's why he wanted to buy it for himself. By the way, at that time it was one of the most expensive cars in the world. The ignition, fuel system and other important elements, without which the car cannot be used for its intended purpose, were made in duplicate so that a breakdown during the trip would not become fatal, and, in spite of everything, the car continued to drive.
Hitler's favorite car could transform from a convertible to a limousine and vice versa. His love for her was so great that a year later he ordered to make six more copies of the car for the first persons of the Third Reich.
A few words about performance characteristics
Hitler's car cost approximately 40,000 Reichsmarks. By comparison, the common Volkswagen Beetle at the time cost about 1,000 Reichsmarks.
"Hitler-wagen" - as the transport was often called, was the heaviest and fastest car at that time. He personified the country's desire to be the first, in a word, the best, not only in terms of production, but also politically.
It is worth noting that the reservation of the car left much to be desired. In those years, premium cars were much safer. But this does not mean that the Fuhrer did not have proper protection. Thanks to the special design of the car body, the dictator could not worry about anything.
In addition, the windows of the car were armored with a thickness of 4 centimeters. Behind was the back of the armor, designed specifically for this model. The engineers even thought about how to place the car's spare wheels to serve as armor.
Close but far away
As a result, Hitler seemed careless, being very close to people, but in fact he was reliably protected from bullets, any aggression and ill-wishers. In the event of an unforeseen attack, the chancellor had only to sit down, and the driver drove away at lightning speed.
Of course, such secret protective measures were used exclusively for the Reich Chancellor. Some features have been redesigned to suit his personal driver.
The only unprotected place in Adolf Hitler's car was only the open top.
The supercar had a 7.7 liter engine and 230 horsepower.
As it was written above, this car was the favorite of the leader of Nazi Germany. On it, he went to solemn parades. There is information that he even visited the occupied lands on it. This is evidenced by archival photos of Hitler's car taken in those places during the course of the Second World War. However, the favorite was not "military". For these purposes, several more iron horses were waiting in the wings in his fleet.
Hitler often entered the occupied territories in the great-grandfather of the modern Audi, the sporty Horch 930. It was one of Hitler's favorite military vehicles.
And also, Maybach SW35. By the way, Karl Maybach was a friend of Adolf Hitler. Especially for him, the company developed a new engine, and the designhandled by Spohn specialists. This car was also released in a limited edition and went to the most influential and high-ranking people of Nazi Germany.
Another favorite of Adolf was Volkswagen Käfer. Unlike its garage neighbors, it was inexpensive and practical. This is the task that Hitler set for the developers, wanting to give every German the opportunity to have his own car. However, he was not immediately destined to receive popular love.
There was another Mercedes in the collection - it looks like it was Hitler's favorite car brand.
Mercedes-Benz G4 is not just a car, but a real all-terrain vehicle! Please note - it does not have 4, but 6 wheels. It was on it that Adolf Hitler, standing on a special box, accepted Junziger's surrender. The fact is that the car is very roomy. Hitler, who did not have outstanding parameters, literally drowned in him.
But the Mercedes in the garage did not end there. Another - Mercedes-Benz 24/100/140 PS - Hitler got from the German Reich President Paul von Hindenburg. However, the car did not impress the dictator and he quickly got rid of it, or rather, changed it. It is also worth remembering Hitler's time machine - "The Bell".
Sad patterns
It is curious, but Hitler's relationship with the head of the Mercedes company was not very warm. The Fuhrer did not like the name of the company, as it is a Jewish female name. He demanded to immediately rename the organization. However, later I found out that there isa Spanish word similar to "mercedes", which translates as "mercy". This question was closed, since Germany and Spain had the warmest relations.
A fascinating journey story
The chancellor, after some time of use, presented the car to the dictator of Croatia - Pavelic. After the lands of this and adjacent territories were liberated, another person came to power. As a result, Hitler's former car was nationalized, and after a while the new ruler gave the car to Comrade Stalin. Since then, the valuable gift has been kept in the Special Purpose Garage. These are the trips that war trophies sometimes make.
Stalin did not drive this car for obvious reasons. Firstly, he already had a limousine, which was not inferior in performance to Hitler's car. Secondly, driving the head of the victorious country in the car of the leader of the Third Reich is incomprehensible to the mind. Therefore, the Mercedes remained in the Garage as a trophy.
Gifts-gifts
After some time, Stalin decided to donate the exclusive car to the secretary of the Central Committee of the Uzbek SSR. Then the car went to Uzbekistan. True, he also stayed with him for a short time. Due to the fact that the car was not of Soviet production, it was difficult to get parts for it. So the new owner decided to give it to his driver.
Such manipulations did a lot of damage to the car. The new owner decided to "Russify" the car, making it a truck, and replace the required imported parts with domestic ones. Hitler's once-upscale car has become a utility vehicletransport, was used for agricultural work: with its help, products were transported for sale in the markets. After a destructive exploitation, the car broke down, and the owner left it to live out its life on the outskirts of the Uzbek steppe. There she stood until the early 2000s.
Worn-out plates with numbers helped to recognize the dictator's car. Now they are in a special storage, as they are considered the most expensive elements of a premium car.
Chasing exclusive
Two years later, the car began to pursue a group led by Vadim Zadorozhny. People wanted to trace the evolution of Mercedes cars using the preserved details. The long process of delivering the car to Russia began. When the exhibit was delivered, it turned out that it was missing a lot of details. By the way, less than 100 such copies were produced, which made the already difficult task even more difficult.
Unbelievable, but people managed to get and buy the necessary spare parts, even though they were located in different parts of the globe. After 14 years of fruitful searches, the complete set of parts was completed by 90%. There were many searchers for spare parts for this model, and therefore, in order to get them, you had to sweat a lot.
History in detail
A curious story is known: once a German, who also bought rare parts, visited one of the museums in Russia, where exclusive fragments were kept. Seeing the details in the museum, he changed his face, turned purple, stood for a long time, looked at them and cursed, they say, the Russians are here toosucceeded.
The car is still in Russia near Zadorozhny. Now the restoration of the exhibit is in full swing. But even now it can be considered the property of the Russian Federation, because today there are only five such machines in the world.
Return to life
Of course, a lot of work has already been done, but more remains to be done. For example, there is a long work on the details, painting. Then, when the car is assembled, you should test it in a ride. 300 kilometers of live run will have to show whether the specialists assembled the restored model correctly.
And then he will go to the hall of one of the museums. Despite the dark and rich past of the dictatorial machine, a tourist, seeing it, will only think that all the terrible, terrible events associated with its owner are far behind.
