1900 The first Mercedes On December 12, businessman Emil Jellinek takes delivery of the first "Mercedes", named after his daughter. With its low centre of gravity, pressed steel frame, lightweight and powerful engine, honeycomb radiator and four wheels of the same size, it has many innovative features and is regarded today as the first modern motor car.
1923 Supercharger technology Mercedes 10/40/65 hp sports car – the first series-production passenger car with a supercharger. Today, this proven technology which increases torque and output is used by Mercedes-Benz in the four-cylinder petrol engines which power the C, CLK, E and SLK-Class models, as well as in the SLR McLaren high-performance sports car and many AMG models.
1936 The world's first series-production diesel passenger car It was at the 1936 International Motor Car and Motorcycle Exhibition in Berlin that Daimler-Benz AG presented the Mercedes-Benz 260 D, the world's first series-production diesel passenger car. After a lengthy and intensive development process, Mercedes-Benz broke new ground by fitting a four-cylinder diesel engine (which developed 45 hp at 3000 rpm) in the chassis of a 230 model. The new vehicle consumed just 9.5 litres of diesel oil per 100 km.
1938 An all-time record January 28: Driving the W125 record car on the motorway between Frankfurt and Darmstadt, Rudolf Caracciola attains a speed of 432.7 km/h (measured over one kilometre with a flying start) – a record which still stands as the highest speed ever attained on a public road.
1954 Historic one-two victory July 4: Mercedes-Benz marks its post-war return to Formula 1 with a string of successes. Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling drive their new W196 streamlined racing cars to a one-two victory at the French Grand Prix in Reims. Argentina's Juan Manuel Fangio goes on to take the world championship in the Mercedes-Benz W196 in 1954 and 1955.
1974 Five-cylinder diesel July 1974 saw a spectacular addition to the range of "Stroke-8" saloons: the 240 D 3.0 (W115 model series) was the world’s first five-cylinder diesel passenger car. The 80 hp developed by its 3-litre engine also made it the world’s most powerful diesel passenger car at the time.
1978 A diesel-powered record car April 29/30: In Nardo, Italy, the Mercedes-Benz C111-III diesel sets nine world speed records and eleven international class records.
1983 50,000-kilometre sprint August 13-21: Nardo, Italy – a Mercedes-Benz 190 SE 2.3-16 sets a world record by covering a distance of 50,000 kilometres in just 201 hours, 39 minutes and 43 seconds.
1998 and 1999 Two more titles for the Silver Arrows Mika Häkkinen becomes Formula 1 world champion driving for McLaren Mercedes.
2003 World first: 7G-TRONIC The world's first series-production seven-speed automatic transmission for passenger cars was developed in-house by Mercedes-Benz on the basis of more than 40 years of experience with automatic transmissions. With effect from September 2003, 7G-TRONIC was standard in the eight-cylinder E, S, CL and SL-Class models. The improvements which it offers compared with the previous 5-speed automatic transmission are particularly noticeable in the areas of comfort, agility, driving enjoyment and fuel consumption. Despite these major technical advances, the volume and weight of the new 7G-TRONIC are hardly any greater than those of previous automatic transmissions. This is largely due to the use of lightweight magnesium for the transmission housing – another world first in the context of volume manufacturing.
2005 In an E-Class of its own The high-speed circuit in Laredo, Texas, was the setting for a remarkable achievement by three standard-production E 320 CDI models. Equipped with the powerful six-cylinder diesel engine, the cars set new world records for all vehicle categories and output classes over distances of 100,000 km, 50,000 miles and 100,000 miles. Furthermore, the three six-driver teams set another 19 distance and time records for the 2.5 to 3.0-litre displacement class in the course of the 20,000 laps they completed in the vehicles. The event also proved the durability of the standard-production particulate filters which were still working perfectly, even after this punishing ordeal.
