1911 Mercedes 37/90 Skiff

I had a customer interested in this car at $2m in the late ’90s before the full story emerged

by Alex Finigan

In the early 1900s, Mercedes styling ran the gamut from conservative limousines and landaulets to dashing phaetons and open two-seaters. None, however, approached the style of this one-of-a-kind 1911 Mercedes 90-hp skiff, one of the most exotic Mercedes ever created. The avenue des Champs-Elysées atelier of Henri Labourdette pioneered the exquisite wooden skiff torpedo design, which became popular in the 1910s and remained so through the 1920s. The elegant yacht-like triple-layer body was created by criss-crossing layers of mahogany over a ribbed frame, then applying a third horizontal layer on top. To preserve the rigidity, doors were kept as small as possible in number and size. Apart from its attractiveness, a skiff body was light, normally weighing about 400 pounds. Produced from 1910 through 1914, the 37/90 chassis was powered by a four-cylinder engine of 9,530 cc and delivering 90 hp at 1,100 rpm. The inline engine had two blocks of two cylinders...