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As early as September, 1942, the German Army had live-fire tested (withbullets, not explosive projectiles) a 540K Aktion P pilot-build prototypeat Boblingen, just southwest of Stuttgart. Detailing the programmein 'Automobile Quarterly' – Volume 28 No 1–model authority LudwigKosche related how "...no documents have been found pertaining tothis particular Mercedes, which seems to have been built in addition tothe 20 ordered at the behest of Hitler. The photographs taken on thisoccasion suggest that only small arms were tested against the armourplating. Since all of the 20 armoured 540Ks were released and shipped,it would follow that the armoured design was deemed to providesufficient protection to ensure...safety...".These Aktion P Mercedes-Benz 540K variants received no enginemodification.It is believed that some were delivered with the standard4-speed gearbox, while at least one – '377' offered here - had a special5-speed gearbox to improve its performance. This gearbox is missing,but speedometer markings indicate delivery with the 5-speed installed.This may again have been a change made for the late productioncars?The increase in unladen weight was from around 5,700 (standardcoachwork) to 6,500lbs (armoured Aktion P-specification). The twentyarmoured 540Ks released for VIP protection included '377' as the 19thbuilt. Body numbers ran from '863601' to '863620' and this example'sbody is serial '863619'. It has '19' written on many parts as well as theupholstery, proving it was the 19th of the 20 built. They were distributedas follows:1 – Chassis/Engine serial 408 427 – Dr J. Goebbels, PropagandaMinister2 – Chassis/Engine serial 408 400 – Dr H. Frank – Poland3 – Chassis/Engine serial 408 428 – A. Rosenberg, Reich Minister4 – Chassis/Engine serial 408 405 – Reich Chancellery Motor Pool,Berlin5 – Chassis/Engine serial 408 382 – J. Terboven – Norway6 – Chassis/Engine serial 189 423 – H. Bache, Reich Food Minister7 – Chassis/Engine serial 189 412 – A.K. Greiser – Western Poland8 – Chassis/Engine serial 408 417 – K.H.Frank – Czechoslovakia9 – Chassis/Engine serial 408 390 – H. Himmler, Reichsfuhrer, SS10 – Chassis/Engine serial 408 367 – ditto11 – Chassis/Engine serial 408 372 – E. Koch – Ukraine12 – Chassis/Engine serial 408 418 – Motor Pool Pullach/Munich13 – Chassis/Engine serial 408 359 – A. Speer, Reich ArmamentsMinister14 – Chassis/Engine serial 408 378 – O.Abetz, Ambassador, Paris15 – Chassis/Engine serial 408 362 – A.Lohr, C-in-C Army Group E.Greece16 – Chassis/Engine serial 408 398 – Dr E. Kaltenbrunner17 – Chassis/Engine serial 408 387 – Dr A. Seyss-Inquart – Holland18 – Chassis/Engine serial 408 366 – Motor Pool Pullach/Munich19 – Chassis/Engine serial 408 377 - Reich Chancellery Motor Pool,Berlin20 – Chassis/Engine serial 408 373 – Motor Pool Pullach/MunichOf all these cars only three are known to have survived – one inthe National Technical Museum in Prague, the second in a privateCalifornian Collection while this example is the third. In its originalguise as a 540K Cabriolet B - initial 1938 order number '285059' - itwas delivered that year (extraordinarily) to the Volkswagenwerkeheadquarters in Berlin-Grünewald.Motor Cars | 303