Can you help Marius find his great-grandfather’s Minerva?

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Old family albums have a habit of revealing unexpected stories. For 23-year-old enthusiast Marius Dürkes from Germany, a set of photographs recently uncovered a particularly intriguing chapter in his family history: his great-grandfather once owned an imposing Minerva.

Marius has been fascinated by classic cars since childhood, having inherited the passion from his father. He is currently restoring an Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT ‘Scalino’, but in recent years his interest has increasingly turned towards pre-war automobiles.

That interest became much more personal when he discovered several photographs of his great-grandfather standing proudly beside this magnificent Minerva. Until then, Marius had no idea that such a remarkable motor car had once belonged to his family.

From his own research, he believes it may be a Minerva AK 32, although this identification has yet to be confirmed. The car’s considerable proportions, long bonnet and formal enclosed-drive coachwork certainly suggest one of the prestigious larger Minerva models of the period. The photograph also clearly shows the registration number IM-3519, which may provide an important clue.

The Minerva AK was among the finest European luxury cars of its day, powered by a remarkably quiet six-cylinder sleeve-valve engine of almost six litres. Like many cars of this calibre, it could be supplied with individually commissioned coachwork, making the identification of surviving examples particularly challenging.

Marius would now love to discover more about his great-grandfather’s car — and, if possible, find out what eventually became of it. “I realise that the chances of the car still existing today are probably very small,” he says. “But even the smallest lead or suggestion would mean a great deal to me. Finding out what became of my great-grandfather’s Minerva would be an extraordinary discovery for my family.”

Can any reader identify the exact Minerva model, its coachbuilder or the location where the photograph was taken? Perhaps someone recognises the registration number, the bodywork or even the car itself from an archive, collection or earlier publication.

Photograph courtesy of the Dürkes family.

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