A Brief History Of The
Mercedes Benz
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It all started with two different ideas from two
different men with two different cars. Gottlieb Daimler and Karl
Benz each created their own companies, manufacturing their own
cars. Their companies produced brilliant automobiles as rivals
for about 30 years, until economic ties caused their two
respectful companies to merge and create what today is the
greatest automobile in the world. Here is a brief history of the
Mercedes Benz from it's early days as a motor cycle engine to
today's ground breaking automobile.
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1871,
at the age of 27, Karl Benz got together
with a partner August Ritter in Mannheim to form his
first company, the "Iron Foundry and Machine
Shop". Not long after, the two partners went their
separate ways and Karl Benz started a company of his
own.By 1879/80, eight years after his company was
founded, Karl Benz had developed his first working
two-stroke engine. |
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1885. The
first motor cycle. Gottlieb Daimler makes further
improvements to the four-stroke single-cylinder engine.
and fits it in a two-wheeler which he had designed
himself. |
1886. The
Daimler Motor Carriage.Gottlieb Daimler orders a
four-wheeler carriage from coach makers Wimpff & Sohn
into which he fitted his 1.1 hp engine. |
 |
| On January
29, 1886 the Imperial Patent Office in
Berlin granted Karl Benz German Patent No. 37435 for the
world's first motor car. Its 0.7 hp engine was mounted
horizontally at the rear of a three-wheeler carriage. The
motor car was born The early 1890's brought
the breakthrough for Karl Benz. With new partners and 50
employees, he now concentrated entirely on designing
motor vehicles. |
 |
 |
1893. The
Benz Velo was the first cheap, mass-produced car in the
world. It came onto the market in 1893. |
1896. The
first delivery vehicle was developed by Karl Benz on the
chassis of a Viktoria car model. It was supplied to the
Paris department store "Bon Marché" |
 |
 |
1898. The name
Mercedes. In 1898, Emil Jellinek, who bought and sold
Daimler products, took part in the Nice-Magagnon-Nice
rally under the pseudonym Mercedes, his daughter's name.
He won the race in a Daimler. 1909.
Daimler's star. The suggestion to use the star as a
trademark came from Gottlieb Daimler's sons. Their father
had once sent his wife a postcard with a star marking out
the house where he was living in Deutz. "One day
this star will shine down on my work", he said.In
1909 a trademark was taken out on the star. Its three
points symbolizes the three branches of motorisation: on
land, on water and in the air.
|
 |
1903. The
year of the Parsifal.The new Parsifal was the first
Benz with a vertical two-cylinder engine. It was also the
first Benz with modern propeller shaft drive. |
1919.
Peacetime production.Drawing on experience gained
with aero engines in the First World War, it was now
decided to use supercharging in vehicle engines too. |
 |
 |
1921. The
first luxury models.In 1921 Daimler Motoren
Gesellschaft presented two new vehicle models at the
Berlin Motor Show. These were the first luxury cars of
the post-war era. |
1923. The
Benz Drop-Shaped Car of 1923 was unusual in its basic
layout and can be regarded as the first mid-engine racing
car in the world..The drop-shaped car's greatest moment
was in the Monza European Grand Prix. |
 |
 |
1924.The
Merger. After winning a combined 269 races,
Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft and Benz & Cie.
co-ordinate their production activities and two years
later merged into present day Mercedes Benz. |
. 1926. . Shortly
after the merger, Daimler-Benz create the legendary
"K Type" supercharged model. It had a top speed
of 145 km/h, making it the fastest touring car in the
world. |
 |
 |
1929. The
new medium-sized cars. One of the first models to
appear after the merger was the "Stuttgart", a
six-cylinder unsupercharged model, producing 38 hp. |
1934-1936.
The dream cars of the 30's. In the 30's cars such as
the 500 K and the 540 K were among the most sought after
cars. Cars like the 540 K sports car are among the
all-time showpieces of automotive engineering. |
 |
 |
1934.
A new racing formula led Daimler-Benz to develop a
completely new car known as the W 25. Over the weight
limit to enter races at first, a sand down on the paint
allowed the Silver Arrow to win countless series. |
1945. A
fresh start. After the War, the bombed out
Untertürkheim plant put production of cars on hold, and
for the first few months, the factory's output included
trailers for bicycles. |
 |
 |
1946. Car
business resumes At the Sindelfingen plant, . which
survived damage, production continued except it only
produced as a pick-up, because the Allied Control
Council, prohibited Germany from manufacturing personal
cars. |
1949. The
first new post-war developments May of this year saw
the first new post-war development: a diesel version of
the 170, which soon became a best-seller. |
 |
 |
1954. The
dream car of the 1950's. The 300 SL, which went into
production in 1954 was a dream car from the moment it
came onto the market. Its 215 hp 3-liter 6-cylinder
engine gave the 300 SL a top speed of 250 km/h. |
1955. A
new roadster. The 190 SL was a "popular"
version of the 300 SL. The cost of the 190 SL was only
half that of the 300 SL. The roadster was fitted with a
4-cylinder engine from the 190 saloon, upgraded to 105
hp. More than 26,000 190 SL's were sold around the world.
|
 |
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1958.
Launch of the SE series. The 220 E series was more
economical the a 300 SL. With better flexibility, higher
power output and substantially improved pulling power, it
consumed approximately half a liter less fuel per hundred
kilometers than the 220 S. |
1961. More
safety for Mercedes-Benz drivers. Daimler-Benz
researches were always convinced in the safety of the
seat belt. They had been optionally available since 1957,
however in 1961, the company started to fit the anchorage
points for seat belts as standard. |
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 |
1963. A
new "Grand Mercedes". In 1963, Daimler-Benz
presented a new model: the 600, a car of superlatives in
every way and fitted out with a wide array of electrical,
pneumatic, hydraulic and vacuum-operated systems. 2,600
were sold through 1981. |
1974. New
convertibles. The seventies too had their SL. The
running gear of the new convertibles was taken from the
/8 series. Even more than their predecessors, they
emphasized elegance rather than sportiness. |
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 |
1977. A
completely new Mercedes. The W 123 T-models presented
in 1977 were a new departure in the Mercedes model range.
The letter "T" stands for "tourism"
and "transport". |
1979. The
new S-class makes its debut. Gone was the chrome trim
of the predecessor. Instead, bumpers and broad side
plastic moldings bore witness to a functional design
philosophy. The drag coefficient of 0.36 was low for the
times. |
 |
 |
1982.
Mercedes in a new format. In late 1982, the new W 201
series saw the light of day. With their new body and
running gear, these compact vehicles sparked lively
discussion. |
1984. Daimler-Benz
introduced a new "mid-series" car, the W 124,
incorporating further advances in passive safety. It
featured belt-tensioners for driver and front passenger
as standard equipment and a steering wheel airbag was
optionally available. |
 |
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1989.
Silver Arrows return to the stage. Before the first
event in Suzuka, the Mercedes C 9's were resprayed in
silver. The Silver Arrows made a comeback worthy of the
proud tradition. The Silver Arrows won 7 out of 8 races
including a double win in the Le Mans 24 Hours race. |
1993.
Mercedes-Benz was the first manufacturer in the world to
fit a four-valve diesel engine in a car. The new engine,
fitted in the new E-class models - offering enhanced
performance and smoothness, along with extreme longevity.
|
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1994. The
renaissance of the roadster. The SLK study for a
small convertible was given a rapturous welcome when it
was unveiled at the Turin Motor Show. SLK stands for
"sportlich", "leicht" and "kurz
= short". The two-seater from Stuttgart is the most
exciting Mercedes in years. Fitted with the latest safety
technology and offered with a 4-cylinder in-line engine
with or without supercharger, it develops a maximum
output of 150 or 250 hp. This new dream car will start to
leave the Mercedes plant in Bremen as early as 1996. It
will write a new chapter in the company's long and
remarkable roadster tradition. |
Portions of this Mercedes Benz History were
taken from the Mercedes Benz Site
For a complete, more detailed history of the Mercedes Benz, Click Here
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