Limited serie of 135 pieces only

Mercedes-Benz 630K Torpedo Transformable Saoutchik — 1928

Mercedes-Benz 630K « La Baule » — when Saoutchik reinvented the convertible

At the end of the 1920s, the Mercedes-Benz 630K was one of the most prestigious and powerful automobiles of its time. Its 6.3-litre six-cylinder engine, equipped with a Roots supercharger, produced approximately 140 hp when the compressor was engaged, allowing this substantial automobile to exceed 145 km/h.

For its most demanding customers, Mercedes-Benz supplied bare chassis to leading European coachbuilders. Among them, Jacques Saoutchik occupied a special position. Drawing on his background as a cabinetmaker and furniture craftsman, he enjoyed turning his coachwork into demonstrations of creativity and craftsmanship.

Chassis 35813 received an especially spectacular body in 1928, known as the « Torpedo Transformable La Baule ». Saoutchik designed an automobile that could change its appearance dramatically according to the conditions in which it was used.

At first sight, the body resembles an elegant convertible sedan. Yet its structure conceals several remarkably ingenious mechanisms. The soft top could disappear completely into the body, while the side windows folded away. Even the rear windscreen could be lowered and stored inside the bodywork.

These solutions were sufficiently original to be protected by patents filed by Saoutchik. They allowed the car to change from a closed and protective automobile into a genuine open torpedo, without compromising the elegance of its silhouette.

Chassis 35813 was shipped to Saoutchik on 23 August 1928. According to historical research, it is very likely to have been the car displayed at the New York Automobile Salon that same year. Mercedes-Benz records indicate that the car was shipped to New York on 31 October, just in time for the show.

The American press subsequently reported its sale to Major Monte Stone, a prominent American Mercedes-Benz customer.

The car later enjoyed a particularly eventful history. During the Second World War, it belonged to Pacific Auto Rental, a California company specialising in supplying automobiles to the film industry. In 1943, it appeared in the film « Above Suspicion », starring Joan Crawford and Fred MacMurray.

It was subsequently acquired by American collector M. L. « Bud » Cohn, who discovered it in a small Los Angeles machine shop. Fascinated by its coachwork, he commissioned a complete restoration and regarded it as one of the finest bodies he had ever seen.

The car later passed through the renowned Craven Foundation in Canada before entering several important American collections. A further restoration was carried out by the Blackhawk Collection, which restored its spectacular two-tone finish and richly decorated interior.

Today, this 630K is one of the very few surviving examples fitted with the « La Baule » coachwork.

The Ilario 1:43 scale model

The IL086 model reproduces the 1928 Mercedes-Benz 630K Torpedo Transformable « La Baule » in its open configuration.

Particular attention has been paid to its highly distinctive silhouette, the details of the Saoutchik coachwork and the elements that reveal its ingenious transformable system.

Through this model, Ilario pays tribute to an automobile that perfectly illustrates Jacques Saoutchik's audacity, at a time when a great coachbuilder could still transform an automobile into a true work of engineering and design.