About four years ago, the museum began restoring the car and it became necessary to order parts from Mercedes Benz in Germany. Then they got a surprise! The factory sent back not only the parts they needed, but also a fascinating story: Hitler had ordered just such a car in 1938 and, as far as anyone knew, this was the only car of this type with the steering wheel on the right side that the factory had ever produced!
The car was intended as a gift for the British king and Nazi sympathizer the Duke of Windsor, best known as Edward VIII, the king who abdicated in 1936 to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. The couple traveled around Germany and met Hitler in 1937. The understanding was that the car would be delivered to the Duke of Windsor after Hitler's planned invasion of Britain.
The antique car has an eight-cylinder 5.4L supercharged engine and this alone would fetch up to NOK 50 - 60 million at auction now. It was bought for £500 in England in 1968 and with the history associated with the car, no one can estimate its value today.
