Mercedes 680S Tiger Car 1928 White by Autocult
A Swabian goes to India!
The Mercedes-Benz, designated as the “Tiger Car”,
takes us to India in the 1920s/30s and a world that seems very unfamiliar today,
but also mysterious. It was the time when Maharajas and Nawabs determined the
Indian society and provided a topic of conversation through their enormous
wealth. In this own world of the highest Indian circles, shaped by the
influence of the British Crown, Sir Hamidullah Khan ruled in the Muslim Bhopal under
the title ‘Nawab of Bhopal’ since 1926. For his hobby of tiger hunting, he
ordered a customized car based on the chassis of the Type 680S 26/120/180 hp at
the English Mercedes-Benz Branch in London in 1928.
The chassis was equipped with a 180hp-strong engine
and was delivered by ship from Germany to England on October 22, 1928, and on
December 19, 1928, the ‘Haira Trading Company London’ took over the chassis –
presumably to coordinate the construction of the future body. Already on
January 2, 1929, the car was loaded again was shipped the way back to
Stuttgart, from where it came to the body shop in Sindelfingen in March 1929.
The customized sheet metal body work was completed on May 8, 1929, and on June
1, 1929, the final shipment via London to India took place.
The special features of the unique Mercedes were various
equipment, all of which were especially designed for the hunting of tigers. The
most striking feature was a particularly powerful searchlight embedded in the
car body behind the seats, which could be driven upwards by scissor poles and swiveled
sideways by hand. In 1935, Sir Hamidulla Khan sold his car to the Maharaja of
Bahawalpur.
Description: | Mercedes 680S Tiger Car 1928 White |
Catalogue#: | ATC01016 |
Product Type: | Resincast |
Scale: | 1:43 |
Event: | Road |
Colour: | White |
Drivers: | - |
Sponsors: | - |
Dates: | 1928 |
Race/Position: | - |
Release Date: | August 2024 |
Weight: | 450 grams |
Comments: | Limited edition of 333 pieces |
About Autocult
A relatively new maker of very well finished resincast models, established in 2015. Very imaginative choice of subjects, often concentrating on the more eccentric episodes in motoring history! Production limited to 333 pieces of each subject, which often means that we get one delivery and that is it, so pre-orders strongly recommended!! Made in China for Germany.