MERCEDES-BENZ: The Fifties, Volume 1
Introduction
Introduction
© 2024 Bernd S. Koehling
All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved
MERCEDES 170 Compact
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Excerpts from the book:
Mercedes 170 compact
One of these classic Benz cars one will not even see in the Mercedes museum, they do not exist anymore, just on b/w photos, yet they are part of an important time of Daimler Benz in the post war years. When Daimler Benz re-launched the 170 V in mid 1947, management was afraid that for some time large sedans, bigger and more expensive than the Mercedes 170, could not be sold in sufficient numbers at least in Germany to justify their development costs. The economy at home was not ready for it yet, so they argued. And as nobody at that time knew, what the future had in store for the automotive industry in general and Daimler Benz in particular, chief engineer Dr. Fritz Nallinger and his team developed the idea of building a car that would be offered below the 170V>>>
<<<In March 1949 that idea had already seen some remarkable progress. It was a two-door car with an overall length of just 3,700 mm or 146 in, while the 170V displaced an overall length of 4,285 mm or 168.7 in. With a weight of just 560 kg or 1,230 lbs it was to carry two to three people on a front bench seat. An additional bench seat in the rear was reserved for smaller children. Compared to the 170V it was supposed to have a rather modern engine, which was derived from a six-cylinder 1.8-liter engine that was also in the development stage. The new four-cylinder engine displayed 1.2 liters and already offered an overhead camshaft. But the car had no resemblance with the Mercedes 170 V. Lacking the famous radiator and characteristic separate fenders, it resembled from the side more a small car called Gutbrod Superior. By coincidence, the head of engineering in the small Gutbrod car company was a certain Dr. Hans Scherenberg, who had worked with Daimler-Benz before and who was supposed to return to the company in 1952>>>
<<<There are two questions that would be fascinating to elaborate on a bit further:
1.What would have happened to Auto-Union, if Daimler-Benz would not have sold it to
Volkswagen? >>>
2.If Daimler-Benz would have launched the Mercedes 170 compact W122 with the future SL front, it
would have been a midsize and more affordable car. That also meant that this front could
not have been used anymore for the ultra expensive 300SL>>>
Interested to read more about the compact mercedes 170? Please go here for both printed book and e-book. If you do not live in the US, kindly select it from your respective country website of Amazon.
Mercedes 170 compact
One of these classic Benz cars one will not even see in the Mercedes museum, they do not exist anymore, just on b/w photos, yet they are part of an important time of Daimler Benz in the post war years. When Daimler Benz re-launched the 170 V in mid 1947, management was afraid that for some time large sedans, bigger and more expensive than the Mercedes 170, could not be sold in sufficient numbers at least in Germany to justify their development costs. The economy at home was not ready for it yet, so they argued. And as nobody at that time knew, what the future had in store for the automotive industry in general and Daimler Benz in particular, chief engineer Dr. Fritz Nallinger and his team developed the idea of building a car that would be offered below the 170V>>>
<<<In March 1949 that idea had already seen some remarkable progress. It was a two-door car with an overall length of just 3,700 mm or 146 in, while the 170V displaced an overall length of 4,285 mm or 168.7 in. With a weight of just 560 kg or 1,230 lbs it was to carry two to three people on a front bench seat. An additional bench seat in the rear was reserved for smaller children. Compared to the 170V it was supposed to have a rather modern engine, which was derived from a six-cylinder 1.8-liter engine that was also in the development stage. The new four-cylinder engine displayed 1.2 liters and already offered an overhead camshaft. But the car had no resemblance with the Mercedes 170 V. Lacking the famous radiator and characteristic separate fenders, it resembled from the side more a small car called Gutbrod Superior. By coincidence, the head of engineering in the small Gutbrod car company was a certain Dr. Hans Scherenberg, who had worked with Daimler-Benz before and who was supposed to return to the company in 1952>>>
<<<There are two questions that would be fascinating to elaborate on a bit further:
1.What would have happened to Auto-Union, if Daimler-Benz would not have sold it to
Volkswagen? >>>
2.If Daimler-Benz would have launched the Mercedes 170 compact W122 with the future SL front, it
would have been a midsize and more affordable car. That also meant that this front could
not have been used anymore for the ultra expensive 300SL>>>
Interested to read more about the compact mercedes 170? Please go here for both printed book and e-book. If you do not live in the US, kindly select it from your respective country website of Amazon.