At the last day of the annual 2007 Melbourne International Motor Show, one of Australia's premiere and largest automotive events, the popular auction event held in conjunction with the show conclude a total sales of $2.7 million AUD or about $2.1 million USD from the vintage vehicles and number plates auctioned.

One rare and elegant vintage car drew the interest of international and Australian car collectors at the 2007 Melbourne International Motor Show auction event. The car was a Mercedes-Benz W142 A320 2-door cabriolet that was originally built by the German luxury car maker some time in 1948. The car sold for a whopping $350,000 AUD or about $275,000 USD.

The car was actually a prototype model of a luxury coupe and was not put into production because of Germany's involvement in World War II, which has led to the devastation of the company's factories and other industrial facilities in the country. With the evolution of a much more advanced powertrain components like the single overhead camshaft engine, the platform of the 1948 Mercedes-Benz W142 A320 prototype was no longer used and the car was sold to a Dutch businessman and brought the car to Indonesia. In the late 1980s, an Australian businessman and car enthusiast found the car in the country and ship it to Melbourne.

The Mercedes-Benz W142 A320 cabrio measures about 5.5 meters and has 142-inch long wheelbase. Outside, the rare Mercedes-Benz cabriolet features a sleek two-tone blue exterior color and a soft top roof. On the inside, the restored leather seats remains in tack. The car is equipped with a 59kW side-valve engine under its hood. Well, the buyer should get Mercedes car cover to protect the exterior of this rare Mercedes-Benz W142 A320 cabriolet. And of course as a Mercedes-Benz enthusiast, he can also get other Mercedes car covers for his vehicles.

Although the car went through a complete restoration, it looks like the original Mercedes-Benz W142 A320 prototype model developed in 1948, according to Max-Gerritt von Pein, the head of Mercedes-Benz Museum who inspected the car.

Going back to the 2007 Melbourne International Motor Show auction event, a 1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom I sedan was sold for $100,000 AUD ($78,280 USD). The auctioneer said the car was owned by an Austrian aristocrat who served as a spy for the infamous German dictator Adolf Hitler.

In addition, several vehicle number plates significantly contribute to the total sales of the auction event including five new local Victorian Registration Signature Plates that sold for a total of $154,000 AUD. Four and five-digit plates sold for prices ranging from $27,000 AUD up to $32,000 AUD.

The most expensive number plate sold was the three-digit '765' Victorian vitreous enamel plate that was sold for $75,000 AUD or about $57,710 USD. Other top selling plates include '429' big-block plate for $70,000 AUD, and '353' plate sold for $63,000 AUD.