Making its Merc

DAVID LINKLATER looks back on a century of motoring in which the car has been a star - with three points.

On the occasion of its 100th birthday, Mercedes-Benz would like to wish you safe driving. After all, the German marque has been inventing and innovating in active and passive safety since the first Mercedes-branded car appeared in 1900.

The origins of the company stretch back to the late 1800s, to the work of Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler - two automotive pioneers credited with inventing the car as we know it. Their companies eventually merged in 1926 although, ironically, the two never actually met.

But the Mercedes brand - and arguably the beginnings of its core values of high technology and superior safety - can be traced back to wealthy businessman Emil Jellinek.

In the 1890s car enthusiast Jellinek became a valued customer of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG), and later an authorised agent.

Jellinek was a keen observer of the company's burgeoning motor racing efforts. An accident involving a Daimler-Phoenix racer during the Nice-La Turbie hillclimb in 1900 prompted him to suggest that DMG build a car which was more powerful, yet easier and safer to drive. Jellinek also suggested the car be named after his 10-year-old daughter, Mercedes.

The result was the Mercedes 35 PS, finished on December 22, 1900, which has since been called the world's first modern-design car. Most vehicles of the time were tall, narrow and little more than motorised carriages. But the 35 PS, designed by DMG engineer Wilhelm Maybach, set the template for the next century of motoring with a long wheelbase and wide tracks for maximum stability, a low profile and clean-looking bodywork. Other innovations included an engine with the cylinders grouped in pairs, which was cooled by a new-design "honeycomb" radiator.

The next model further simplified the driving process while offering increased performance. The first Mercedes-Simplex 40 PS was delivered in 1902. The fifth example was delivered to United States millionaire William Vanderbilt Jr, who immediately drove the 110km/h two-seater 600km to Paris. The car still survives in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.

The Mercedes brand was built through high-tech vehicles such as the 1921 SSK and 1924 24/100/140 PS, with a six-cylinder supercharged engine designed by DMG engineer Ferdinand Porsche. The 170 of 1931 was the smallest Mercedes-Benz in the range, but still sported sophisticated engineering such as independent suspension front and rear. The dual-wishbone front axle of the 1933 380 is claimed to have laid the foundation for many of today's suspension designs.

The Second World War was the darkest time for the three-pointed star, but in later years the 220 and 300 became the dream cars of the early 1950s, while the legendary 1953 300 SL introduced monocoque construction (with an integrated body and frame) into the range.

The late 1950s started a surge of cutting-edge safety development. The seminal 1959 "tail-fin" 220 sedans featured a patented "safety body" system, with a rigid passenger compartment, a padded and rounded interior and crumple zones front and rear. The safety body was also used on the 1963 230 SL sports car.

Five generations of the luxury S-class since 1968 have pioneered a plethora of safety advances.



In 1978 the 116-series S-class became the first car to be offered with anti-lock brakes. In 1981 the W126 model pioneered an optional driver's airbag and seatbelt tensioners. By 1988 a passenger airbag was also available. In 1992 the driver's airbag and anti-lock brakes were standard on all Mercedes-Benz models. In 1995, the S600 coupe was one of the first cars to be equipped with a production version of Electronic Stability Program (ESP).

The current S-class, launched in 1998, featured 30 technical and safety innovations including a passenger airbag with two-stage deployment and automatic child seat recognition.

The all-new CL coupe of 1999 was the first production car in the world with active body control (ABC), while 2000's CL55 AMG F1 was the first to feature ceramic brakes.