Hitler's Motorcars : The Fuhrer's Vehicles From the Birth of the Nazi Party to the Fall of the Third Reich

Many photographs exist of Hitler standing proudly in the passenger seat of a midnight blue Mercedes, arm outstretched in his famous salute to German crowds. Hitler loved cars and loved to be seen in and next to the special automobiles he purchased or was presented with through friends and Nazi Party funds. His first car was a 1920 green Selve 8/30, purchased in 1922, which was soon disposed of in favour of a Daimler-built Mercedes 15/70/100 and from that moment on every car in which Hitler was chauffeured around the Third Reich and occupied countries would be a Mercedes. Such was Hitler's interest in cars, he arranged state sponsorship for Mercedes and Porsche (Auto Union) to participate in Grand Prix racing. Security was always a great concern of Hitler and his entourage and his 770 was protected with bullet-proof windows and steel armour-plate built into all metal work. As well as providing photographs of Hitler's cars, John Starkey lists the technical specifications of those cars.