Company Curios

Richard Simonds & Stephan McKeown

Any manufacturing concern in business for as many years as Daimler AG is bound to leave a trail of unusual products in its wake: The archival record is rich with visionary designs, special-purpose vehicles and one-off devices that sought to define an unknown future or fill a perceived need. It is also littered with odd wares that have little to do with our contemporary notions of Mercedes-Benz.

Company Curios

Sublime, singular and strange machines and merchandise from 130 years of Daimler AG

As the oldest builder of motor vehicles in the world, Daimler AG has defined a global industry through continuous technical evolution, always executed to the highest engineering standards. The firm – itself the result of a desperate merger to stave off bankruptcy – has repeatedly used canny production resourcefulness to survive catastrophic economic and social upheaval. Any manufacturing concern in business for so many years is bound to leave a trail of unusual products in its wake: The archival record is rich with visionary designs, special-purpose vehicles and one-off devices that sought to define an unknown future or fill a perceived need. It is also littered with odd wares that have little to do with our contemporary notions of Mercedes-Benz. More recently, a range of lifestyle products – commissioned from outside manufacturers able to meet Daimler’s exacting standards – has joined the mix. Part I of a light-hearted – and by no means all-inclusive – look back at the company’s unique conveyances, automotive daydreams, and orphaned relics from the production catalog.

Article Stephan McKeown & Richard Simonds

Images Daimler Archives & Richard Simonds

• The first motorcycle: Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach’s “Reitwagen.” In late 1885, Daimler’s son Paul took it on its first ride, reaching a top speed of 7 miles an hour

• 1886 Daimler motorboat used on the Neckar River

• Mercedes-Benz Folding Bicycle, 2009 (in partnership with ADP Engineering)

• Mercedes bicycle production, 1919-1924

• Mercedes bicycle delivery ticket, 1924

• Advertising placard for “Mercedes Electrique” electric vehicle, Berlin Marienfelde, 1908.

Generation EQ electric vehicle concept, 2016

• Mercedes-Benz LF3500 fire truck, 1952 •

• Mercedes-Benz O3750 streamlined luxury omnibus, 1930s

• Mercedes calculator and typewriter, 1920s

• Unique 1960 300d Measuring Car gathering data via umbilical connection to a W115 test vehicle on the Untertürkheim track; analog instruments filled the rear compartment