Built by one of the most renowned German manufacturers of the Classic Era, the Maybach SW38 was considered the equal of the larger models produced by Mercedes-Benz, in its potency, scale, and quality. It was equipped with a 140-horsepower, 3,790-cubic-centimeter inline six-cylinder engine. Power was delivered through a remarkable DSG manual transmission, with four speeds controlled by a preselector at the center of the steering wheel and a floor-mounted shifter for the selection of low, high, and reverse gears—an arrangement that permits a total of eight forward speeds and four in reverse. Build quality was outstanding, as was the conservative but handsome coachwork provided by such legendary firms as Spohn of Ravensburg.

According to Michael Graf Wolff Metternich’s Maybach Register, chassis number 1798 is an early SW38 with the early-production chassis configuration, without X-bracing. It was built with right-hand drive and bodied as this dignified Cabriolet by Spohn, finished in Nightshade Gray over blue leather interior with a limousine-style division window and fully convertible light gray top. It was originally delivered to the Johann Klais organ factory in Bonn. Metternich notes that the car was recorded by Maybach as having next been owned by the Probstei Nordrhein of Düsseldorf, and then by its third owner, the Hoch-Tief construction company, receiving its last service at the factory in 1950.

An American owner brought the car to this country; by 1976 it had been titled to Robert Cash of San Diego. In 1986, Mr. Cash sold it to Rudi Klein, who moved it into his junkyard—and there it has sat since, largely exposed to the outdoors and, accordingly, suffering from the elements. It has experienced considerable deterioration to its structural woodwork and interior, but retains much of its coachwork, trim, and drivetrain components, with both Metternich and Maybach Club president Hannes Steim noting that the engine was replaced by another SW38 unit, likely around 1939 as a factory replacement.

Ideal either as the basis for a significant restoration to its original glory or as a source of components to support another SW38, this striking Maybach, so rare in this country, has much to offer the Classic Era enthusiast.