Hitler's Mercedes used in Nazi parades up for sale

A 1939 luxury Mercedes limousine used to carry Adolf Hitler around Germany will be auctioned in the US state of Arizona next month -- one of only four such models ever built.

Powered by a 7.7-liter supercharged engine capable of exceeding 100 mph (160 kph), the Mercedes-Benz 770K Grosser -- known to the world as the "Super Mercedes" -- was a potent propaganda symbol of the Third Reich which the Fuhrer rode standing in the front seat.

Billed as "the most historically significant automobile ever offered for public sale," the imposing four-door convertible will be offered to bidders at the Worldwide Auctioneers event in Scottsdale on January 17 at the city's annual classic car event.

The car -- which carried the number plate 1A 148461 -- was used to ferry Hitler on his victory parade through Berlin following the stunning defeat of France, and for a state visit by Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.

As the conflict turned in the Allies' favor, it fell into disuse in France and was captured after the war by US forces who, apparently unaware of its provenance, put it into a military police motor pool.

After the war it went briefly to a private owner in Belgium before being sent to the US where it made its way to the Greenville, North Carolina bureau of Veterans of Foreign Wars, which used the car for parades, carrying dignitaries and Gold Star Mothers.