Ralph Lauren Mercedes-Benz vehicles are few but special, including a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL and a 1958 300SL Roadster. Amazingly, neither car is the most valuable Merc he has. That title goes to the 1930 Mercedes-Benz SSK “Count Trossi.” SSK is an abbreviation of Super Sport Kurz, Kurz meaning “short.” 372 regular sport models of the Ferdinand Porsche-designed car were made, and just 42 Kurz variants were built, but chassis number 36038 is unlike any other. It spent much of the period from 1930-1933 racing, but it didn’t spend all its life at top speed.
Long story short, it was bought by Count Felice Trossi, an Italian automaker and racecar driver, in June 1933, and he decided that he wanted a bespoke body for his new acquisition. Who actually penned the design remains a mystery, but there are rumors that Count Trossi came up with the styling himself, while other reports point to an American having sketched the original drawings. Either way, the 1930 Mercedes-Benz SSK was commissioned in 1933 and completed the following year.
The man doesn’t just let these cars appreciate in some warehouse, but regularly uses them. And when he can’t, he’s more than happy to let car enthusiasts enjoy them – from a reasonable distance, of course. In 2011, the designer put 17 cars on display at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in The Louvre in Paris. He’s a regular attendee at high-end concours events too.
