Mercedes-Benz 380 (W 22)

About this model

Mercedes-Benz briefly pursued eight-cylinder sport motoring with the Typ 380 — a short-run chassis that paired straight-eight power with open, performance-oriented coachwork in the early 1930s.

The Typ 380's eight-cylinder engine and sporting chassis layout placed it alongside the company's Kompressor tradition in spirit, if not in supercharged form. It offered wealthy buyers a grand-touring alternative built on the firm's newest eight-cylinder road-car engineering, distinct from the longer, more formal luxury eights in the catalogue.

Production was limited to 154 examples across 1933 and 1934. The brief run reflects both the narrow market for such cars during the period and the rapid evolution of Mercedes-Benz's eight-cylinder range toward more specialized Kompressor and Grosser Mercedes offerings.