Company Curios
Sublime, singular and strange machines and merchandise from 130 years of Daimler AG
Article Stephan McKeown & Richard Simonds
Images Daimler Archives & Richard Simond
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 II 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.
In 1896, Gottlieb Daimler’s – and the world’s – first truck was sold to the British Motor Syndicate Ltd, London
Birth of the conventional truck: 1898 Daimler platform truck was the first with a covered engine located above the front
During the German financial crisis of the 1920s, Benz & Cie. built furniture at its Sindelfingen plant
1991 C112 mid-engine sports-car concept
1970 Mercedes-Benz C111 II •
2015 Mercedes-Benz F015 Luxury in Motion autonomous-driving luxury-car
2016 Sprinter Worker van equipped for extreme field conditions
1907 Daimler heavy-duty truck undergoes evaluation by the German military
1979 hydrogen-drive Mercedes-Benz city bus prototype
1937 Mercedes-Benz O10000 electric trolley bus
LEGO Technic model of 2016 Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3245 tipper
2015 Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Constructors’ Championship winning PU106C Hybrid Power Unit
1994 Penske-Mercedes PC23 Indy 500-winning 3.4-liter V-8 turbo engine
2011 Mercedes-Benz Aero Trailer concept drastically cut wind resistance and fuel consumption
2012 “smart for jeremy” designed by American fashion designer Jeremy Scott
1955 Mercedes-Benz L319 Untertürkheim factory service van
1924 sport version of Benz RH
2001 F400 Carving concept with dynamic handling that varies wheel camber •
2005 Mercedes-Benz Bionic Car concept, modeled after the exoskeleton of the reef-dwelling yellow boxfish
1910 Prinz Heinrich Benz, considered the first true sports car
1938 O10000 mobile post office for the German Reichspost
1938 LG2500/LG 65/3 experimental all-wheel drive omnibus for high alpine routes
1958 Mercedes-Benz LP333 Millipede: An advanced truck with two steerable front axles
2008 Mercedes-Benz Econic NGT (Natural Gas Technology) refuse removal truck
1997 Mercedes-Benz ML320, as used in the filming of “Jurassic Park”
1934 DB7 prime mover undergoes military trials, Berlin-Marienfelde
2013 Cigarette AMG Electric-Drive Powerboat concept shares engineering and propulsion components with the 2013 SLS AMG Electric Drive Coupe
2014 Vision Grand Turismo AMG concept
1938 Mercedes-Benz W125 12-cylinder speed-record car reached 268.49 miles per hour
2016 Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 concept
1975 Mercedes-Benz 200D hearse, body by Pilato
Sprinter “Rescuer” concept for Interschutz 2015, an international fire, rescue, civil protection and security trade fair
1980 Mercedes-Benz 1634 car transporter carrying a range of Mercedes-Benz W126 models (top) and W123 models (bottom)