A fusion of automotive craftsmanship and fine art, the 1954 Mercedes-Benz 220A Cabriolet by Hiro Yamagata is now on display at the DFW Car & Toy Museum as part of the Ron Sturgeon Collection. This one-of-a-kind vehicle, originally bodied by Sindelfingen, is one of only 1,278 Cabriolet A models produced between 1951 and 1955. Chassis number 3503688 was hand-selected by Yamagata for his Earthly Paradise series, which debuted at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery in 1994 and later toured museums in Austria, Italy, and Japan.
Before Yamagata's transformation, the car was meticulously refurbished in 1996 and coated in a roughened matte white acrylic. Inspired by the natural beauty of Fiji, Yamagata applied a midnight blue base and adorned the car with tropical imagery, including a Scarlet Macaw on the hood, a peacock along the rear bodywork, hibiscus flowers, palm trees, a rainbow, and multicolored birds. His signature on the left-rear fender marks it as a piece of living art. Out of the 24 cars envisioned for the series, only a few were completed, making this 220A exceptionally rare.
Beneath the artistic exterior lies the engineering of the W187 platform, featuring a 2.2-liter M180 inline-six engine producing 80 horsepower, paired with a column-shifted four-speed manual transmission. Luxurious details include a three-piece fitted luggage set in the trunk and VDO instrumentation framed by a three-spoke steering wheel.
The DFW Car & Toy Museum, located at 2550 McMillan Parkway in Fort Worth, Texas, offers free admission and parking. The museum, founded by Ron Sturgeon, also provides secure climate-controlled car storage and event facilities. For more information, visit the museum's website at dfwcarandtoymuseum.com or the original toy museum site at DFW Elite Toy Museum.
