One of the third series of 540 K Cabriolet As, the example offered here, chassis number 189391, is especially desirable for having been ordered without sidemounted spares, an unusual feature for this generation of the style.

The result had an especially clean, tailored air, with smooth, rounded lines that hint at French coachbuilding and, more pointedly, the famed fastback Autobahnkurier on the same model.

According to its Kommission sheet, a copy of which is on file, this car was ordered by the British Mercedes-Benz agency; their records indicate that the order was on behalf of a Mr.

Manson, and registered as FLC 217.

From early photos, it appears that this may have been one of the rare examples built without the spare tires mounted in the fenders.

Historian Ronald Johnson noted that the car, having apparently remained in England through the war, was then acquired in 1951 by Peter Ustinov, the multiple award-winning British actor, filmmaker, writer, and renowned raconteur.

When ...