Polish car dealership Austor is selling a replica of the legendary Mercedes-Benz SSK for an asking price of 1.5 million złoty (over $370,000 USD). The SSK counted among the world’s most successful racecars of the pre-WWII era and is now estimated in $10+ million range.
The replica has sidepipes, a hood cover fastened to it with a leather belt, and two spare tires where the trunk usually is. Compared to its source of inspiration, however, it has different wheels on the outside and a simplistic steering wheel inside with no dedicated lever for manual ignition advance. The dashboard is also not genuine-looking.
The real SSK came powered by a 7.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine supercharged to around 300 PS (296 hp / 221 kW). The imitation makes do with a rather tame 2.5-liter M123 six-pot maxing out close to 140 PS (138 hp / 103 kW).
The original SSK (see video) was one of Ferdinand Porsche’s last works for Mercedes before Volkswagen was founded. It held a number of motorsport victories back in its era, including the 500 Miles of Argentina in 1929, the Gran Prix of Cordoba in 1930, and Mille Miglia / Germany Gran Prix / Argentina Gran Prix in 1931.
To put things into perspective, a genuine Mercedes-Benz SSK found a new owner for £7,400,000 18 years ago, which exceeds $10,000,000 USD at the current conversion rates.