Mercedes-Benz SSK Speziale Roadster, Light Blue

SSK stands for Super Sport Kurz, super sport short: a short-wheelbase development of the Mercedes-Benz Model S, its chassis 480 mm shorter, built from 1928 to 1932 in a run of 33 cars. It was the last car Ferdinand Porsche designed for Mercedes-Benz. The 7,069 cc straight-six carried a supercharger that came in only when the throttle pedal was pushed past its full travel. Rudolf Caracciola won the 1929 Ulster Tourist Trophy and the 1930 Irish Grand Prix in SSKs, and the type plate on this model reads Type 720 SSK Rudolf Caracciola Speziale Roadster.

The body is light blue over black wings and running boards. The louvred bonnet opens on the engine and its red ignition leads, and three flexible exhaust pipes leave the side of the bonnet. The V-shaped radiator carries Mercedes and Benz script under a star mascot. Wire wheels with copper brake drums run on Continental tyres, two spares are strapped at the tail above plates reading MB-1928 and D, and a silver 15-litre can rides on the running board. Inside are a pleated light blue leather seat, an orange wooden wheel rim, a wooden dashboard with an Andr. Vogel rev counter and a pair of stopwatches. A Carrozzeria Mischko crest is fixed to the body side. On the high-gloss burr wood base lies a toolkit: axle stands, hammers, spanners stamped D.M.G., a tyre gauge and a box of spare bulbs. The type plate carries the Miško logo and the number 2010-04. Miško Models is the workshop of Dr Miodrag Jelesijević, who builds Mercedes S, SS, SSK and SSKL models by hand at 1:5.