King Faisal I of Iraq’s 1930 Mercedes 770K to be sold at auction

Rare vintage Mercedes owned by the Iraqi royal family will be up for bids in the US

King Faisal I of Iraq, centre, at the 1919 Peace Conference in Paris. Getty

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum has put a 1930 Mercedes-Benz 770K, which was ordered new by King Faisal I of Iraq, up for auction.

It is expected to reach a high price when it goes in front of bidders.

One of just 117 W07 examples built between 1930 and 1938, and its chassis bears the plate Baghdad – 83807.

It was fitted with a four-door, three-position cabriolet bodywork by Voll and Ruhrbeck of Berlin, and a liftable triple roof.

It remained an Iraqi state car during the reigns of King Ghazi and King Faisal II.

The car came into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation’s ownership in 1967 and a refurbishment was completed in the ’70s.

It has since been displayed in vintage car parades in the US.

Finished in black with red upholstery, its power comes from a numbers-matching 7.7-litre, inline-eight engine paired with a three-speed manual transmission.

The Kingdom of Iraq between 1921 and 1958 - in pictures