An extremely rare Mercedes that was believed to have been stolen by an Allied soldier towards the end of World War II is expected to fetch an estimated £6m in an auction at Bonhams. However, apart from the car itself that packs in some raw appeal, it is the history of the car itself that makes the Mercedes 500k unlike any other among its peers.

According to the Daily Mail, the saga of events starts towards the end of World War II when Allied troops hit upon the rare piece of automobile magnificence in the estate of German industrialists Hans Prym. The Allied soldiers seized the car and imprisoned Prym even though he was never a Nazi sympathizer.

The car was then taken to the US where it was to live for the next 66 years of its life. In fact, it remained largely obscure during most of that period and surfaced around 2011 when it was sold to a Dutch car enthusiast Frans van Haren for £2.9 million, the Telegraph reported.

However, as Frans van Haren would rue his luck. Later on, he made the mistake of exhibiting his prized possession in a car show held in Essen, Germany. It was here that the car caught the attention of Prym's grandchildren who claimed they continue to be the legal owners of the car.

Not surprisingly, matter ended up in the court of law where judges ruled in favor of Prym's family members. Judges relied on the 30-year statute of limitation rule to sort out the ownership issues. As per the rule, anyone claiming ownership of an object has to do so within 30 years. The rule became relevant once the car re-appeared in Germany and hence offered authorities enough legal ground to impound the vehicle, mentioned Motor1.

That was in 2012 with Prym's descendants now deciding to have the car auctioned off by Bonhams. The auction would be held at the Chantilly sale event in France on September 3 and is expected to fetch anywhere between €5M and €7M.

As for the car itself, just 29 pieces of the stately machines were built and continues to be in pristine condition even to this day.

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