On May 19, 2006, the new Mercedes-Benz Museum
opened its doors to the public.
The new Mercedes-Benz Museum is located next to
the parent plant in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, one of the cradles of the
automotive industry. Nor far from there, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach
developed their high-speed gasoline engine, the basis for individual mobility.
Beginning in 1903, early Mercedes vehicles were created there; this was the site
of headquarters following the merger of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft with Benz
& Cie. to form Daimler-Benz AG in 1926; here was the starting point of
reconstruction after World War II; and here the Mercedes-Benz brand still is at
home today.
The museum comprises seven main galleries and five
smaller collections.
Pioneers – The Invention of the Automobile,
1886 - 1900
This room envelops visitors in an atmosphere that
revives the creative and industrious activities of Karl Benz and Gottlieb
Daimler. This is a time of development and experiment.
The results are the world’s first automobiles, the
Benz Patent Motor Car and die Daimler Motor Carriage, both dating from 1886.
Slowly turning in a circle, they receive the visitor, together with a stationary
exhibit, the Grandfather Clock, the first high-speed internal combustion engine
of Gottlieb Daimler.
But not only the beginnings of the automobile are
illustrated. Another section of this room describes the far-reaching impact of
the invention of the mobile internal combustion engine – an impact which would
have been unthinkable without the innovative ability and creativity of Daimler
and Benz.
The narrow-gauge locomotive, the motorboat Marie,
the streetcar, Wölfert’s engine-powered airship or the bus and the first truck
illustrate the broad approach the inventors had in mind to enable motorization
on land, on water and in the air.
Daimler’s Riding Car is the first vehicle to have
a high-speed internal combustion engine and is considered the world’s first
motorcycle. It proved that a man could control an engine. Daimler’s younger son
Adolf rode it from Cannstatt to Untertürkheim in November 1885, reaching speeds
of up to 12 km/h (7.5 mph). After this successful test, Daimler installed the
engine in a carriage one year later.
Independent of him, and almost at the same time,
the Patent Motor Car of Karl Benz emerged – both vehicles are regarded as the
world’s first automobiles.
In the years that followed, they pushed ahead with
new designs. Daimler introduced the wire-wheel car with two-cylinder engine and
four-speed toothed gear transmission in 1889. Benz followed in 1893 with the
Victoria model, which with its double-pivot (kingpin) steering solved one of the
most essential problems of vehicle engineering in those days and definitively
smoothed the way for the four-wheeled automobile.
In 1894 Benz came out with the Motor Velocipede –
Velo for short, a lightweight vehicle which went down in history as the first
small car and, with a production run of around 1,200 units, also as the first
volume-built car in the world.
Beginning in 1895, Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft
built the belt-driven car whose engine was located in the rear and which
transferred engine power to the rear wheels by means of a belt transmission. New
was also the jet carburettor developed by Daimler’s brilliant design engineer
Wilhelm Maybach. It was the grandfather of the modern carburettor. The
belt-driven car also went down in history as the first motorized taxi in the
world, and it was the basis for the world's first truck.
It did not take long for Daimler to make a
complete range out of the first truck introduced in 1896. As early as 1898 he
even ventured into the five-ton class. Not only that: the Benz delivery vehicle
of 1896 can be regarded as the predecessor of today’s vans. One year earlier
Karl Benz delivered an eight-seater bus to the city fathers of Netphen and
Siegen in Germany’s Siegerland region, who started up the world’s first
motorized scheduled passenger service with the vehicle.
Exhibits
-
Otto stationary four-stroke engine, 1880
-
Benz stationary two-stroke engine, 1882
-
Daimler Grandfather Clock single-cylinder engine,
1886
-
Daimler Motor Carriage, 1886
-
Benz Patent Motor Car, 1886
-
Daimler riding car, 1885
-
Daimler motorized trolley, 1887
-
Daimler motorboat Marie, 1888
-
Wölfert engine-powered airship, 1888
-
Daimler motorized quadricyle, wire-wheel car, 1889
-
Daimler motorized waggonet, 1891
-
Daimler motorized fire engine, 1892
-
Daimler motorized locomotive, 1893
-
Benz Victoria, 1893
-
Benz motorized velocipede, 1894
-
Benz bus, 1895
-
Daimler Vis-à-Vis belt-driven car, 1896
-
Daimler motorized truck, 1898
-
Daimler motorized business vehicle, 1899
-
Benz Dos-à-Dos, 1899
-
Daimler V2 engine, 1889
-
Daimler five-horsepower four-cylinder engine, 1895
-
Benz two-cylinder opposed-piston (“Contra”)
engine, 1897
2. Mercedes – Birth of the Brand, 1900 - 1914
Around the turn of the century, the automobile had
reached a certain level of maturity. But it took further fundamental inventions
to truly advance it. The first Mercedes was the first modern automobile and
possesses features which have shaped the development of the automobile to this
day: the low-slung frame, the light-alloy engine, the innovative honeycomb
radiator and the controlled intake valves. It said farewell to the carriage age.
At the same time the Mercedes on display – the 40
hp Simplex, the oldest preserved specimen of the car – tells about the idea that
sparked off the brand, about Emil Jellinek, who moved in the best circles on the
Côte d’Azur and sold many motorcars of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) there.
Under the name of his daughter Mercédès he took part in racing events. From then
on, DMG called its products “Mercedes”.
Four more vehicles, two from Benz & Cie. and
two from Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft, stand on a sloped platform.
Exhibits
-
40 hp Mercedes Simplex, 1902
-
60 hp Mercedes Simplex touring car, 1904
-
18 hp Benz Double Phaeton, 1905
-
75 hp Mercedes Double Phaeton, 1908
-
20/35 hp Benz landaulet, 1909
Workbench
3. Pacemakers – Diesel and Supercharger, 1914 -
1945
The automobile has now arrived in a new period and
become part of everyday life – and the Benz and DMG engineers concern themselves
with solutions and answers to a variety of problems and challenges. An
epoch-making invention in the period between 1914 and 1945 was the diesel
engine, first in the truck and later in the car.
Another major invention, in answer to the
unceasing call for more and more engine power, was the supercharged engine.
The arrangement of the exhibits in this room is a
reflection of this spectrum. After World War I the supercharger technology,
developed originally for aircraft engine use, boosted the engine output of the
luxury cars of the 1920s and 1930s and became a symbol of elegance and driving
enjoyment. Vehicles like the Mercedes-Benz SSK, the 500 K special roadster, the
540 K cabriolet B and the Grand Mercedes 770 (as an opening touring car) are
representatives of the supercharger world – and an extremely exclusive crowd.
They are contrasted by workaday diesel-engined
cars.
In heavy-duty trucks the diesel era dawned back in
1923. But it would take until 1932 for the compression-ignition engine to
prevail in the light commercial vehicle. It was the light Lo 2000 truck with
3.8-liter OM 59 diesel engine under its hood which demonstrated that even the
high engine speed of 2000 rpm was controllable in a compression-ignition engine.
This power plant paved the way for the diesel passenger car, which Mercedes-Benz
put on the market in 1936 as the 260 D.
In addition to the motor vehicles, six aircraft
engines are shown. They not only symbolize locomotion, but also speak of the
Company’s involvement in two world wars. Floating above the scene is a Klemm L
20 B, a small airplane of the 1920s.
Exhibits
-
10/40 hp Mercedes sports two-seater, 1923
-
26/120/180 hp Mercedes-Benz model S, 1928
-
27/170/225 hp Mercedes-Benz model SSK, 1928
-
Mercedes-Benz Lo 2000 diesel-engined platform
truck, 1932
-
Mercedes-Benz 500 K special roadster, 1936
-
Mercedes-Benz 540 K cabriolet B, 1937
-
Mercedes-Benz 770 Grand Mercedes open touring car,
1937
-
Mercedes-Benz 260 D Pullman sedan, 1938
-
Mercedes J 4 L airship engine, 1909
-
Benz FX aero engine, 1912
-
Daimler D III aero engine, 1915
-
Mercedes bicycle, 1924
-
Mercedes-Benz DB 600 aero engine, 1935
-
Mercedes-Benz DB 601 aero engine, 1937
-
Mercedes-Benz DB 603 aero engine, 1944
-
Klemm-Daimler L 20 light plane, 1928
Workbench
-
15/70/100 hp Mercedes six-cyl. supercharged M 836
engine, 1924
-
Mercedes-Benz six-cylinder OM 59 diesel engine,
1932
-
Hands-on exhibit: supercharger of the
1930s
4. Post-war Miracle – Form and Diversity, 1945
- 1960
The first years after World War II were marked by
hardship and privation. Then came the recovery. Life normalized again, a new
period began. The vehicle exhibits in this room document this; the automobiles
of Mercedes-Benz now have a fresh and stylish look.
Mercedes-Benz stands as an example of the young
Federal Republic. It was one of the first companies to stage a recovery from the
chaos of war, reopening its gates in 1945 and playing a decisive role in
reconstruction with its commercial vehicles. The foundations for the sustained
growth of the Company and its long-term international presence were laid in the
course of the “economic miracle”: the commercial vehicles guaranteed high sales
and were an important export product for the Company.
Model 180 (“Ponton”) meant the successful
transition to integral body construction and the modular principle in
production. In the luxury class, Mercedes-Benz impressed everybody with the 300,
the ultimate status car of post-war Germany. And like no other model, the 300 SL
with its spectacular gullwing doors stood for the new awakening in the country.
In the heavy-duty class, too, the factory brought
out the first cab-over-engine vehicles and manufactured short-nose vehicles,
like the LK 338, beginning in 1959.
Exhibits
-
Mercedes-Benz 300, 1952
-
Mercedes-Benz 300 S convertible A, 1954
-
Mercedes-Benz 300 SL coupe, 1955
-
Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe, 1955
-
Mercedes-Benz 180 “Ponton,” 1955
-
Mercedes-Benz 300 SL roadster, 1962
-
Mercedes-Benz LK 338 dump truck,
1960
Workbench
5. Visionaries – Safety and the Environment,
1960 - 1982
Answers to the public issues of this period, which
took their rise in the debate on road safety since the mid-1960s and in the wake
of the ecological movement of the 1970s, were found in the products of
Mercedes-Benz. The Company can claim for itself that it attached great
importance to passive safety long before the public debate set in.
As early as the late 1950s Mercedes-Benz began
making crash tests and conducting systematic accident research. Of course, these
were just harbingers of more far-reaching safety innovations like the safety
steering column, the antilock braking system (ABS) and the airbag.
The growing environmental awareness prompted
Mercedes-Benz to look into alternative propulsion energies (e.g., alcohol,
hydrogen, natural gas and electric drive) even before the oil crisis. The
Company reacted to the tougher US fleet average (CAFE) legislation by building
fuel-saving vehicles. The most visible evidence of this is the first
diesel-engined S-Class 300 SD and a third series, the W 201, which came out on
the market in late 1982 as the model 190; in addition to having an
environment-friendly design it led the way in safety.
How these currents of the period were reflected in
the commercial vehicle is shown by the O 303 touring coach. The O 303 marked the
start of development of the rollover-resistant body skeleton, but was also the
prototype for rational construction by the modular assembly system. And it was a
coach of the O 303 series in which Mercedes presented antilock braking system
(ABS) in a commercial vehicle for the first time.
Exhibits
-
Mercedes-Benz 300 measuring car, 1960
-
Mercedes-Benz 220 S Tailfin, 1964
-
Mercedes-Benz 230 SL Pagoda, 1964
-
Mercedes-Benz Experimental Safety Vehicle ESF 22,
1973
-
Mercedes-Benz O 303 touring coach, 1979
-
Mercedes-Benz 300 SD, 1980
-
Mercedes-Benz 190 E, 1984
Workbench
-
Hot-water rocket, 1962
-
Four dummies
-
Hands-on exhibit: airbag
6. Moving the World – Global and Individual,
from 1982
Expansion around the globe is the central theme of
this room. It communicates the internationality and individuality of the
Mercedes-Benz brand based on five vehicles, each of which tells a personal
story. They stand as examples of the vastly different customer requirements, in
terms of practicality, dependability and prestige.
That, in particular, the commercial vehicles of
Mercedes-Benz can claim internationality and universality for themselves is
shown by two exhibits. One is a van from the Sprinter series that served as a
dental practice on wheels in Japan. The other is a heavy-duty all-wheel-drive
Actros with model designation 3341 A which went on a very special mission. It
was part of a legendary convoy in which DaimlerChrysler brought relief aid all
the way to Afghanistan in 2003.
Exhibits
-
Mercedes-Benz 200 D (W 124 series), 1988, a taxi
from Portugal with over one million miles on the clock
-
Mercedes-Benz S 600, 1995, original owner: Arnold
Schwarzenegger
-
Mercedes-Benz 290 GD, 1998, which travelled the
world from Germany
-
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 312 D, 1999, mobile dental
practice from Japan
-
Mercedes-Benz Actros 3341 AK “Traceca”, 2002, part
of a relief convoy to Afghanistan
Workbench
-
Mercedes-Benz OM 611 four-cylinder CDI engine,
2003
-
Front end of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (W 210)
with four-eye face, 1995
-
Multi-link independent rear suspension of the
Mercedes-Benz E-Class (W 210), 1995
-
ESP components, 1995
-
AdBlue tank, 2005
-
Hands-on exhibit: multicontour seat from the
S-Class
7. Silver Arrows – Races and Records
Racing cars and record-breaking vehicles have
accompanied the Mercedes-Benz brand since its early beginnings. In sporting
competition the cars demonstrate their reliability; at the same they provide a
platform for technical development since the vehicles achieve top performance
within a very short time – and what proves good on the race-track has the best
prospects of passing the test posed by an “ordinary car life.”
This room transports the visitor to a high-speed
racetrack. From the very early vehicles through many Silver Arrows and race
trucks to the Formula One racing cars of the present, all categories are
represented from the T 80 world record car (1938) to the Solarmobile that won
the Tour de Sol in the mid-1980s.
There are also several display cases containing
keepsakes (such as the oil-smeared gloves of Hermann Lang) and the upper section
of the walls is decorated with a selection of the many cups which have been won
for Mercedes-Benz. Two Formula One racers – an older 1950s W 196 and a more
recent McLaren Mercedes – are on display, partly disassembled, to open up a view
of the technical details of these racing cars.
Two racing simulators convey the authentic
atmosphere of various races of different epochs function as “racing time
machines” – the manufacturer of this equipment normally builds professional
flight simulators. Two visitors at a time can take a seat in the cabin of a
simulator. The simulator moves, and the entire atmosphere and even the seat
position change according to the driving characteristics of the five vehicles
that can be simulated: a Mercedes from the French Grand Prix of 1908 (winner:
Christian Lautenschlager), a Mercedes-Benz W 125 from the 1937 German Grand Prix
(winner: Rudolf Caracciola), a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR from the 1955 Mille Miglia
(winners: Stirling Moss/Denis Jenkinson), a Mercedes-Benz 500 SLC from the
Bandama Rallye (winners: Björn Waldegaard/Hans Thorszelius) and the
McLaren-Mercedes MP4-13 Formula One car in which Mika Hakkinen won the 1998
Monaco Grand Prix.
Exhibits
-
Mercedes-Benz M 25 E, 1936
-
Mercedes-Benz Indy engine 500 I, 1994
-
Mercedes-Benz OM 501 LAR race truck engine, 2001
-
Mercedes-Benz FO 110 M Formula One engine,
2002
-
14 hp Benz racing car, 1900
-
23 hp Daimler Phoenix racing car, 1900
-
Benz Grand Prix racing car, 1908
-
200 hp Lightning Benz racing car, 1909
-
Mercedes Grand Prix racing car, 1914
-
Two-litre Mercedes Targa Florio racing car,
1924
-
Mercedes-Benz W 25 750 kg racing car, 1934
-
Mercedes-Benz W 25 streamlined AVUS racing car,
1937
-
Mercedes-Benz W 125 750 kg racing car, 1937
-
Mercedes-Benz W 154 three-litre racing car, 1938
-
Mercedes-Benz W 165 Tripoli 1.5-liter racing car,
1939
-
Mercedes-Benz 1450 S race truck, 1990
-
Mercedes-Benz Atego race truck, 2001
-
Mercedes-Benz 300 SL racing sports car, 1952
-
Mercedes-Benz W 196 R 2.5-litre racing car, 1955
-
Mercedes-Benz W 196 R 2.5-litre streamlined racing
car, 1955
-
Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR racing sports car,
1955
-
Penske-Mercedes PC 23 Indy Car, 1994
-
McLaren Mercedes MP4-12 Formula One racing car,
1997
-
McLaren Mercedes MP4-13 Formula One racing car,
1998
-
Mercedes-Benz 230 S cross-country sports car, 1939
-
Mercedes-Benz 300 SE rally car, 1963
-
Mercedes-Benz 280 E rally car, 1977
-
Mercedes-Benz 500 SLC rally car,
1980
-
Sauber-Mercedes C 9 Group C racing sports car,
1989
-
Sauber-Mercedes C 11 Group C racing sports car,
1990
-
Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR GT racing sports car,
1997
-
AMG-Mercedes 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II DTM touring
car, 1992
-
AMG-Mercedes C-Class DTM touring car, 1995
-
AMG-Mercedes CLK DTM touring car, 2001
-
AMG-Mercedes C-Class DTM touring car,
2005
-
Mercedes-Benz W 196 R 2.5-liter racing car, 1955
-
McLaren-Mercedes MP4-14 Formula One racing car,
1999
-
Mercedes-Benz T 80 world record car, 1939
-
Mercedes-Benz W 125 twelve-cylinder record car,
1938
-
Mercedes-Benz C 111-III diesel-engined record car,
1978
-
Mercedes-Benz Economobile, 1980
-
Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.3-16 record car, 1983
-
Mercedes-Benz Alpha real Solarmobile, 1985
-
Mercedes-Benz E 320 CDI record car,
2005
Collection Rooms
In addition there are five Collection rooms
devoted to the various competencies of Mercedes-Benz. Each room takes up a
different theme:
Collection 1: Gallery of Voyagers
Collection 2: Gallery of Carriers
Collection 3: Gallery of Helpers
Collection 4: Gallery of Celebrities
Collection 5: Gallery of Heroes
Finally “The Fascination of Technology” provides a
glimpse of the everyday work of Mercedes-Benz designers and engineers and
previews the future of the automobile. It is not a part of the exhibition, but
is freely accessible.
Did you enjoy this article?
Please consider supporting AutoSpeed with a small contribution. More Info...
|
More of our most popular articles.
|
|
|
|