1957 220S....5 Speed on the column? What?

[Mr.Kenny]

I just went and bought a 1957 220s sitting in a field; the owner insists it has a 5 speed on the column; he said fifth gear is next to forth. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing?

This is a European car, speedo is in kilometers and has a Becker Mexico with a short wave band installed below it.

[vandor]

It's called reverse :-)

The only 5-speed on the column that I know of is the last few years of the Citroen DS.

[Tony H]

Even though it is sitting you should be able to shift through the gears if the clutch is pushed in. Can you shift into 5 forward and 1 reverse gear?

[Mr.Kenny]

Originally Posted by Tony H

Even though it is sitting you should be able to shift through the gears if the clutch is pushed in. Can you shift into 5 forward and 1 reverse gear?

I didn't try, and the car is still sitting on the seller's property; he said it had to be "sneaked into fifth gear" as it was hard to find......
The car once belonged to a Mercedes car club of America member; was "restored once"; and I was thinking maybe the restorer retrofitted a 5 speed or overdrive into the car....?

(Or most likely the seller is mixed up; he hasn't driven it in 20 years.)

[Idle]

A manual from that era makes no mention of service for a 5-speed. It strongly implies that only 4-speeds were available but you could get the 'hydrak' option which is in a world of its' own. If you don't know what this is there is a great deal of information available on-line.

And please post some photos. The current condition of the car is unimportant; it would just be a great pleasure to see what such a find looks like.

It is possible that someone added an aftermarket overdrive. Such things were available during the 50's.