This is an unusual find, especially for discovering on a site like craigslist. The car shown here is a 1927 Mercedes 12/55 Mannheim, a large sedan manufactured by Daimler-Benz AG and one of the first vehicles sold under the Mercedes-Benz brand name. This is a “Pullman” in the classic Mercedes sense, meaning it is an early example of the company’s expertise in building long wheelbase models that had a knack for gobbling up miles no matter the length of the roadway in question. This 12/55 Mannheim is a barn find located in Germany, and is offered by a Canadian market seller here on craigslist for $255,000.

Interestingly, this particular car appeared in 2021 as an auction vehicle with a percentage of the proceeds reserved for charity; you can see more about this here via a post on the Mercedes’ enthusiast website BenzWorld. The poster, of course, never posted beyond telling the forum that the car was up for auction, and that was seemingly the last we heard of it until now. The photos appear near identical between that mention of it in 2021 and today, which does make you wonder if it was ever sold. Regardless, this does appear to be a remarkably well-preserved example of a car we rarely, if ever, see come up for sale.

One of the only other recent mentions I can find of a model similar to this is a car locked away in the Mercedes-Benz factory museum in Stuttgart. This should tell you a bit about the significance of the model in the company’s history. Over the years, I have increasingly become a fan of older Mercedes-Benz vehicles, which has to do with a few factors, some of which are purely nostalgic and personal. However, the other reason I am a fan of the brand is because seemingly every model I come into contact with – assuming it is in good shape overall – is a phenomenal highway cruiser. As a company, Mercedes is perhaps most known for building absolute tanks that live for the interstate, a quality that this model is said to possess, especially when used for traveling through the Alps.

The six-cylinder engine reportedly generated around 55 b.h.p., and a top speed of 62 miles per hour. I don’t have a reference guide in front of me to compare other cars from the era, but that seems quite impressive for 1927. From its inception, Mercedes seemed to have a fixation on building cars that thrived on the open road, and perhaps the reason that seems so unique is because it was a quality reserved for the upper echelons of society. Regardless, this car today is a notable piece of history for both the industry and Mercedes-Benz, and whatever has transpired in the past as it relates to finding a long-term caretaker, it would seemingly deserve a sympathetic mechanical restoration at the very least. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Zappenduster for the find.