The 8 Best Supercharged Cars Ever Made, Ranked

The ’20s were a fascinating time of innovation in automotive engineering, with engineers on both sides of the Atlantic finding new ways to squeeze more power out of their cars. Mercedes-Benz was one of the companies with many successes in engineering engines and one such powerplant resided in the incredible SSK from the late ’20s.

The SSK is an open-top car styled very much like its contemporaries, however, it rides low to the ground and features an enormous 7.0-liter 6-cylinder engine. By 1928, Mercedes-Benz had already been a company in some form for almost fifty years, with its founder, Carl Benz, being the inventor of the car itself. Therefore, Mercedes was already a leader in the industry, and its cars were known for being technologically advanced, well-built, and winners on the race track. Models prepared for racing used the same six-cylinder engine equipped with a Roots-type blower for an output of 300 horsepower, according to Rev Institute. The manufacturer posted the rating for the road-going version at 200 horsepower.

Whether it has 200 or 300 horsepower, the SSK is a magnificent example of early 20th-century engineering and design. The car is a beautiful example of Mercedes at the top of its game in the interwar period. With only 31 models made, auctions do not happen often. Bonham’s most recent sale in 2004 resulted in a winning bid of nearly $5 million.

[Featured image by Chattus via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 4.0]