Category Archives: Mercedes Heritage

Mercedes Heritage August 2010

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125 years ago – 29 August 1885: Gottlieb Daimler protected his “riding car” with German Patent No. DRP 36 423, issued on 11 August 1886. The prototype, powered by a “gas or petroleum engine” with an output of 0.37 kW, was the world’s first motorcycle. In November, Daimler’s younger son Adolf undertook the first journey from Cannstatt to Untertürkheim, achieving speeds up to 12 km/h.
 
105 years ago – 11 – 17 August 1905: The first Herkomer Race, a
937-kilometre touring car competition across southern Germany, ended in a triple victory for Mercedes: Edgar Ladenburg, Hermann Weingand and Willy Pöge took the first three places in the general classification.
more about the Mercedes-Benz Motorsports History
 
80 years ago – 9 – 10 August 1930: Rudolf Caracciola won the International Klausenpass Race in a Mercedes-Benz SSK, setting a new sports car record in the process.
more about the Mercedes-Benz Motorsports History
more about Rudolf Caracciola
 
65 years ago – August 1945: Production of the 4.5-tonne Mercedes-Benz L 4500 truck started up again at the Gaggenau plant. A total of 290 units were built by the end of the year, all in the simplest design. For example, they had a standard cab made of wood, no bumpers and no guide rods.
 
65 years ago – August 1945: The project group was set up for the Unimog, the “Universal-Motor-Gerät”. The original U 1 model was presented in 1947.
more about the Unimog History

Mercedes Heritage July 2010

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80 years ago – 18 and 19 July 1930: Rudolf Caracciola won the Grand Prix of Ireland – and in so doing, the Irish Times Trophy – driving a Mercedes-Benz SSK. His average speed for the 480-kilometre course was 139 km/h. The SSK was an advanced development of the SS model; with its 7-litre displacement, the engine developed 125 kW without and 165 kW with supercharger.
80 years ago – July 1930: A special-production Mercedes-Benz “Nürburg” 460 was delivered to Pope Pius XI. It was the brand’s first “Popemobile”.
more about the Mercedes-Benz Popemobiles
50 years ago – 27 July 1960: The supervisory board of
Daimler-Benz AG authorised the purchase of 1.5 million square metres of industrial premises at Wörth near Karlsruhe. The plan was to build a new truck assembly plant. Five years later, on 14 July 1965, the first truck assembled there came off the production line, a Mercedes-Benz LP 608.
20 years ago – 18 July 1990: Following the ground-breaking ceremony performed by Werner Niefer, then Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz AG, the foundation stone was laid for the new Rastatt plant. The official opening took place in late 1992.

Mercedes Heritage April 2010

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125 years ago – 3 April 1885: Gottlieb Daimler applied for a patent for his internal combustion engine with vertical cylinder, the so-called “grandfather clock” engine. This compact design was a key invention en route to the automobile.
110 years ago – 2 April 1900: Emil Jellinek and Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft agreed a contract on the sale of Daimler automobiles and engines. That same month, Jellinek ordered 36 vehicles at a total cost of 550,000 Goldmarks.
75 years ago – April 1935: In the 1935 season Mercedes-Benz formula racing cars from the W 25 series notched up many triumphs. The list included: Grand Prix of Monaco, 1st place (22 April); Grand Prix of Tripoli, 1st and 3rd places (12 May); International Avus Race, 1st place (26 May); International Eifel Race, 1st place
(16 June); French Grand Prix, 1st and 2nd places (23 June); Grand Prix of Barcelona, 1st and 2nd places (30 June); Belgian Grand Prix, 1st and 2nd places (14 July); Swiss Grand Prix, 1st and 2nd places (25 August); Spanish Grand Prix, 1st, 2nd and 3rd places (22 September).
more about the history of the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows
35 years ago – 7 April 1975: Daimler-Benz presented an experimental bus for combined battery / trolley operation in Esslingen. The Duo bus, based on the
Mercedes-Benz OE 302, went into regular service trials the same day.
more about the history of alternative drive systems in commercial vehicles of Daimler AG

Mercedes Heritage March 2010

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115 years ago – 18 March 1895: The world’s first motorised bus, ordered from
Benz & Co. in Mannheim on 19 December 1894, went into scheduled service on the Siegen – Netphen – Deuz route. However, the bus line was abandoned in December 1895 on account of adverse weather and technical problems.
more about the Mercedes-Benz Bus History
 
110 years ago – 26 – 30 March 1900: Several new Daimler-built 23 hp “Phoenix” racing cars took part in Nice Race Week. Emil Jellinek entered two vehicles. Wilhelm Bauer, works driver for Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG), suffered a tragic accident at the Nice – La Turbie hillclimb. Continue reading →

Mercedes Benz History Dec 09

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10–18 December 1924 – 85 years ago: The 15/70/100 hp and 24/100/140 hp Mercedes models made their debut at the Berlin Motor Show. The two supercharged cars were the latest top-of-the-range models in the sales programme.

10 December 1934 – 75 years ago: 311.98 km/h was the new speed record set over five kilometres with a flying start on the Avus racetrack in Berlin by Rudolf Caracciola driving the record-breaking Mercedes-Benz W 25.

24 December 1949 – 60 years ago: Production of the first Mercedes-Benz omnibus – an O 3500 – in Mannheim after the Second World War.

6 December 1954 – 55 years ago: Mercedes-Benz presented the O 321 H omnibus, whose semi-integral design marked a fundamental turning point in Mercedes-Benz omnibus construction.

December 1984 – 25 years ago: Delivery of the first of the new O 405 standard line buses.

20 December 1994 – 15 years ago: The decision on where to locate smart production fell in favour of Hambach-Saargemünd plant.

Mercedes Heritage October 2009

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Daimler Heritage: Topics for October 2009

 October 1889 – 110 years ago:
Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach exhibited their V-type engine and steel-wheeled car at the World Exposition in Paris, which gave rise to the development of the French automotive industry. A Benz Patent Motor Car was also on display at the World Exposition.

Other notable events:

28–30 October 1934 – 75 years ago: Rudolf Caracciola set several international records at the Gyon racetrack near Budapest, driving the Mercedes-Benz W 25 racing car.

24 October 1954 – 55 years ago: Juan Manuel Fangio won the Formula One World Championship in the Mercedes-Benz W 196 R.

October 1964 – 45 years ago: Eugen Böhringer and Klaus Kaiser won the Argentine Grand Prix, enabling Mercedes-Benz to take the title for the fourth time in succession.

3–13 October 1974 – 35 years ago: The new Mercedes-Benz O 303 omnibus model series made its debut at the Paris Motor Show.

Mercedes Benz Heritage July

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3-5 July 2009 – Goodwood Festival of Speed:
This years Goodwood Festival of Speed will be a celebration of 75 years of the Silver Arrows. Mercedes-Benz will presesnt six original works race cars.
 
Other notable events:
16–22 July 1894 – 115 years ago: Theodor von Liebieg embarked on the first long-distance journey in the history of motoring with his Benz Victoria. He drove from Reichenberg in Bohemia via Mannheim and Gondorf an der Mosel to Reims and back.
22 July 1894 – 115 years ago: The world’s first automobile race – a reliability trial – was staged from Paris to Rouen in France.
4 July 1914 – 95 years ago: Christian Lautenschlager won the French Grand Prix in Lyons driving a 4.5-litre Grand Prix Mercedes. Louis Wagner and Otto Salzer took second and third place respectively driving the same model.
4 July 1954 – 55 years ago: Mercedes-Benz returned to Formula 1 racing with the W 196 R racing car. Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling pulled off a spectacular double victory in Reims, France.
July 1969 – 40 years ago: Daimler-Benz and MAN (Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg AG) established the MTU Group, combining the product fields of high-performance diesel engines and turbojet aero engines.
July 1974 – 35 years ago: The world’s first passenger car with a five-cylinder diesel engine, the Mercedes-Benz 240 D 3.0 (W 115), made its debut. It was also the most powerful diesel passenger car.

Mercedes Benz E Class

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With the launch of the 2010 E Class around the corner, I thought I would give a brief history of what it has brought to the auto industry. 

Technical highlights of the E-Class and its predecessors
136 and 191 series (1946 to 1955)
  • Saloon with all-steel body from 170 S model (1949)
  • Four-cylinder diesel engine in the 170 D model (1949)
  • Short arm/long arm front suspension in the 170 S (1949)
120 and 121 series (1953 to 1962)
  • Three-box body design cuts air resistance and fuel consumption
  • First Mercedes-Benz passenger car to feature self-supporting body design
  • Rear single-joint swing axle (1955)
110 series (1961 to 1968)
  • Safety passenger cell with front and rear crumple zones
  • Dual-circuit brake system with brake booster and disc brakes from 1963
115 and 114 series (1968 to 1976)
  • Diagonal swing axle: rear axle with semi-trailing arm, auxiliary rubber springs and torsion bar stabiliser as standard
  • From 1973 on ribbed tail lights to reduce dirt accumulation
  • The 240 D 3.0 model becomes the first production car worldwide to feature a five-cylinder diesel engine
123 series (1975 to 1985)
  • Double-wishbone front suspension with zero scrub radius
  • Safety steering column with corrugated tube based on design by Béla Barényi
  • Station wagon with automatic hydropneumatic level control
  • The 300 TD Turbodiesel model (1980) is the first car on the German market to feature turbocharged diesel engine
  • Experiments with alternative drive systems: hydrogen, electric motor, liquefied gas
124 series (1984 to 1996)
  • Considerable improvement of cd value compared with 123 series and therefore a significant reduction in fuel consumption
  • First use of V8 engines in the E-Class (1991)
  • First large-scale use of four-valve technology with petrol and diesel engines
  • Shock absorber strut independent front suspension with anti-dive control; multi-link independent rear suspension
  • Automatically engaging 4MATIC four-wheel drive
210 series (1995 to 2003)
  • Electronic Traction System (ETS)
  • Direct-injection diesel engine, turbocharger and intercooler in the E 290 Turbodiesel model
  • 1997: new-generation 4MATIC as permanent all-wheel drive with ETS
  • 1998: diesel injection engines featuring common rail technology in the E-Class
211 series (since 2002)
  • Four-link front suspension; multi-link independent rear suspension mostly made of aluminium
  • Electrohydraulically controlled Sensotronic Brake Control (SBC™) system
  • Adaptive front airbags and two-stage belt force limiter featuring automatic front passenger weight classification
  • Four-cylinder engine with two balancer shafts in the E 220 CDI model
  • TWINPULSE system for mechanical supercharging in the E 200 KOMPRESSOR model