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Mercedes-Benz is one of the most distinguished automobile manufacturers in the world. From its humble beginnings in 1926 to producing one of the fastest production cars on the planet, Mercedes has achieved success at every level, on the road and on the track. Indeed, the company is responsible for creating some of the most iconic motor vehicles ever designed. But did you know it was a 10-year-old girl that inspired the name behind the largest brand of premium vehicles being driven across the globe today? Imagine what else you don't know!
Click on and take a spin through the history of Mercedes-Benz.
The Mercedes story begins with German engine designer and automotive engineer Carl Benz. In 1885, his company Benz & Cie. built the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, widely regarded as the world's first practical modern automobile and the first ever to be sold to the public.
After Gottlieb Daimler's death in 1900, DMG entrepreneur Emil Jellinek commissioned a new vehicle from Maybach and Paul Daimler, Gottlieb Daimler's eldest son. Built in Stuttgart, it became known as the Mercedes 35 HP.
Another hugely significant figure in the evolution of Mercedes is Gottlieb Daimler. An engineer and industrialist, Daimler was a pioneer of internal-combustion engines and automobile development.
Daimler worked closely with a designer called Wilhelm Maybach. Together they formed a company called Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG) and developed light, high-speed internal combustion engines suitable for land, water, and air use.
Manufactured at the Benz & Cie. factory in Mannheim and part-financed by Carl's wife Bertha using a portion of her dowry, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen featured a one-cylinder internal combustion engine and traveled at about 14 km/h (9 mph).
The Mercedes 35 HP was launched to great fanfare in 1901. It was equipped with a powerful petrol engine and, while originally designed as a racing car, it was quickly developed as a road vehicle. It represented the first motorcar in the Mercedes line, but why was it named as such?
Emil Jellinek christened the vehicle Mercedes in honor of his 10-year-old daughter, Mercédès Jellinek.
As Daimler-Benz, the new automobile manufacturing company presented the first range of passenger car models launched under the Mercedes-Benz brand at the 1926 Berlin Motor Show. These were the W 02 and the W 03—among the first line of vehicles to bear the new three-point star trademark.
The vehicle that truly placed Mercedes-Benz on the world automobile map was the SSK. Built between 1928 and 1932, the SSK's high performance and numerous competitive successes made it one of the most highly regarded sports cars of its era. Incidentally, this was the last car designed for Mercedes-Benz by Ferdinand Porsche before he left to found his own company.
The 1930s saw the introduction of the Mercedes-Benz 770, also known as the Großer Mercedes due to its enormous dimensions. This model was favored by high-ranking Nazi officials before and during the war. Adolf Hitler used the 770 on numerous occasions, its spacious interior serving as a platform on which he'd acknowledge and salute crowds of well-wishers.
A grand touring car built by Mercedes-Benz between 1934 and 1936, the 500K was designated as such for Kompressor (German for supercharger), only fitted to these sleek and classically styled high-performance cars.
In 1935, Mercedes-Benz unveiled the 260 D, one of the world's first diesel cars. Production continued up until 1940, after which the company was obliged to devote itself almost entirely to military manufacture.
Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz was enjoying equal success on the track. Throughout the 1930s, the company, with their mighty Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows, dominated Grand Prix racing in Europe. The cars were so named because even the paintwork had been stripped to reduce weight, resulting in chassis resembling a gleaming arrowhead.
The Mercedes-Benz W186 Model 300 is often identified as an Adenauer after Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). Featuring graceful modernist bodywork, the 300 was employed by the government of the time for use by VIPs. The American president John F. Kennedy was photographed standing in one next to Chancellor Konrad during a tour of Cologne in 1963.
Produced from 1954 to 1957 as a gull-winged coupé and from 1957 to 1963 as a roadster, the 300 SL remains a highly sought-after classic car.
Meanwhile, the Mercedes-Benz 190 SL luxury roadster was turning heads across Europe and in the United States, where it was showcased at the 1954 New York Auto Show.
In production from 1963 to 1981 as a successor to the Adenauer, the ultra-luxury Mercedes-Benz 600 became the company's first flagship model. A number of 600 limousines were made as landaulets, with a convertible top over the rear passenger compartment. These were designed for exclusive use by VIPS, including royalty: Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip are seen traveling in one during a 1965 visit to Munich.
And it was in 1963 that the Mercedes-Benz 230 SL was unveiled. The SLs were typically configured as a "coupé/roadster" with a soft-top and an optional removable "pagoda" hardtop. The motoring press are pictured getting to know the vehicle at Schwarzenberg Palace in Vienna.
Meanwhile, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class series has passed into history as the single best-selling line the company has ever made. C-Class vehicles and their 190 predecessors have achieved over 10 million units sold worldwide.
To meet the needs of an ever-demanding professional clientele, the Mercedes Benz SLK-Class was launched in 2012. A neat and compact executive roadster, the SLK-Class remained in production until 2020.
Owing a nod to the popular G-Class is the Mercedes-Benz GLE. A mid-sized SUV, the Coupé 450 AMG (pictured) is the top model in the GLE Coupé lineup.
Only 2,157 units of the impressive Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren were produced, between 2003 and 2010. This grand tourer is still one of the fastest production cars ever made, attaining a top speed of 333 km/h (207 mph).
The Mercedes-EQ series of battery electric vehicles first launched in 2019 now comprises three models. The EQS, which debuted in 2022, is a large, heavy sedan and the most expensive of the EQ lineup, with a starting price of over €91,000 (US$100,000).
In 1954, Mercedes-Benz returned to what was now known as Formula One racing. Legendary Argentinian racer Juan Manuel Fangio chalked up a win for the Mercedes team at the French Grand Prix in Reims in July of that year, driving a W196.
And Mercedes-Benz is back to big numbers in motorsport. It returned to sportscar racing proper in 1997 with the CLK GTR (pictured), which was entered in the new FIA GT World Championship series.
And Mercedes has become one of the most successful teams in Formula One history, winning seven consecutive Drivers' titles from 2014 to 2020, and eight consecutive Constructors' titles from 2014 to 2021. Lewis Hamilton is one of their superstar drivers.
Sources: (Mercedes-Benz) (Le Monde) (Automobile Catalog)
See also: Porsche, the origins of a supercar
In June 1909, Daimler's sons Paul and Adolf approved a three-pointed star symbol as the DMG trademark. When DMG and Benz & Cie. merged in 1924, the words "Mercedes Benz" were added, set within a laurel wreath.
The same year, 1954, Mercedes-Benz captured the imagination of the motoring public with its iconic 300 SL. Its gullwing doors contributed to its status as a groundbreaking and highly influential automobile.
Towards the end of the 1970s, Mercedes-Benz began developing the G-Class range of vehicles. Sometimes colloquially called the G-Wagen, the sturdy, boxy design of the G-Class has endured: this is one of the longest-produced vehicles in Daimler-Benz's history, with a span of over 40 years. Pictured is the G350 CDI from 2015.
Sadly, Mercedes-Benz will forever be associated with the world's worst motorsport accident. On June 11, 1955, during the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR driven by French driver Pierre Levegh rear-ended the Austin-Healey of Lance Macklin, who had swerved to avoid a collision with Mike Hawthorn's Jaguar. Levegh's disintegrating car was catapulted into the crowd, killing him and 83 spectators. The tragedy prompted Mercedes-Benz to withdraw from motor racing until 1989, and then only emerging to provide engines for other cars.
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Mercedes-Benz is one of the most distinguished automobile manufacturers in the world. From its humble beginnings in 1926 to producing one of the fastest production cars on the planet, Mercedes has achieved success at every level, on the road and on the track. Indeed, the company is responsible for creating some of the most iconic motor vehicles ever designed. But did you know it was a 10-year-old girl that inspired the name behind the largest brand of premium vehicles being driven across the globe today? Imagine what else you don't know!
Click on and take a spin through the history of Mercedes-Benz.