A Mercedes-Benz said to have carried Adolf Hitler during parades in Nazi Germany is still for sale after a $7 million bid was rejected.
The 1939 Mercedes-Benz 770k Grosser Offener Tourenwagen is one of only five in the world, and one of only three in private ownership.
The auctioneers called the vehicle, “The most historically significant automobile ever offered for public sale.”
They noted that the car was “extremely expensive, obsessively engineered, robustly constructed, and hand-crafted.”
However, a sale might still happen as the negotiations will continue with individuals outside the auction atmosphere, the auction house told the outlet.
There’s some debate over the exact value that Hitler using the car places on it, with some arguing that there shouldn’t be much of an addition.
The expert said the historical significance attached to the vehicle could double its value.
If the car does sell, 10 percent of the proceeds is lined up for an organization dedicated to Holocaust education.
There’s also hope that the buyer of the car will be willing to put it in a museum somewhere.
“We understand there is a market for war memorabilia and that serious collectors are interested in items like this,” Ken Jacobson, deputy national director of the Anti-Defamation League told the broadcaster.
“While we don’t have an issue with Nazi-era automobiles like this going up for auction, we would not want to see the vehicle winding up in the hands of someone who would use it to glorify Hitler or the deeds of the Nazis. Ideally, we would prefer to see it housed in a museum, so that it could be understood in its proper context,” he said.
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