We always believed ourselves to be well-schooled in German beer available to U.S. consumers. From Stuttgart’s Dinkelacker CD Pils to our perennial favorite, Munich’s Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest, we thought we’d tried about every Reiheitsgebot-governed beer available on this side of the Atlantic.   

Apparently we were wrong, since Radeberger Pilsner, a beer we’ve never sampled, is offering beer drinkers of legal age a chance to win a vintage Mercedes-Benz convertible in an effort to promote its ware in the United States Market.

Up for grabs is a Mercedes-Benz 280 SL convertible, to be selected by the sponsor. That means that the year can vary anywhere from 1963 to 1971, and the car may not be the color of the one depicted here. Still, the average retail value of the prize is estimated at $40,000, which buys a reasonably nice (if not concours-winning) example.

It’s not clear if the car will come with both the soft top and the “pagoda roof” hardtop, and no mention is made as to whether the car will have the four speed manual or four speed automatic transmission. We suppose that even the ZF-built five speed manual, introduced in 1966, is possible but highly unlikely.

Four finalists will be chosen, and each will get a trip for two to New York CIty for the grand prize drawing in March of 2013. One lucky winner will be chosen in New York and given the keys to the vintage Mercedes-Benz, assuming that they meet all the contest eligibility rules outlined here.

The contest promoters clearly state that the vehicle isn’t new, and is being delivered to the winner in “as is” condition. While a springtime cross-country trip in a vintage 280 SL  sounds like our idea of a good time, we’d err on the side of caution and pack lots of tools, a few spare parts and a quart or two of oil, just to be on the safe side.

If you’re 21 or older and live in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania or Washington (presumably the states where Radeberger Pilsner is distributed), you can find complete details on how to enter here.