“Mille Miglia” stands for the fascinating history of motor racing legends. Again and again, the famous racing sports cars from Mercedes-Benz and their drivers have reached new heights in this legendary Italian thousand-mile race. This is now being marked by the “Mercedes-Benz Champions at Mille Miglia” exhibition at the Museo Mille Miglia in Brescia. This event is the first highlight of the strategic cooperation between Daimler and the Museum in Italy, which was concluded in February 2012.
Daimler AG has entered into a strategic cooperation with the Museo Mille Miglia in Brescia, Italy. The aim is to highlight and strengthen the commonalities between the Mercedes-Benz Museum and the Museo Mille Miglia. Planned activities include a mutual exchange of exhibits.
The premiere that was celebrated for two luxurious premium-class cars from 15 to 25 March 1962 at the 32nd Geneva Motor Show was a brilliant one: Mercedes-Benz presented the 300 SE Coupé and the 300 SE Cabriolet of the W 112 series. Because both these two-door four-seater cars were the result of the consistent combination of technical brilliance, impressive performance and very high standards of style and elegance.
Sporty-elegant, two-door and with seductively modern lines: this is how the new Mercedes-Benz upper medium-class coupé presented itself at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1987. Model series C 124, which was to be designated “E-Class Coupé” from 1993 onwards, was – after the saloon and the estate – the third body variant of the 124 series. The A 124 Cabriolet, based on the coupé, was to follow only in 1991.
The Mercedes-Benz Type 320 (W 142 series) celebrated its premiere at the International Automobile and Motorcycle Exhibition (IAMA) in Berlin in February 1937. With it, the brand closed a gap in the market between medium-sized vehicles and vehicles of the largest format. At least, this is what the renowned "Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung" (AAZ or "General Automotive Magazine") felt upon the presentation of the new 3.2-litre motor car. With this model Mercedes-Benz broke new ground in this particular vehicle class, which in those days was characterised by extreme competitiveness.
At the 2012 Rétromobile, Mercedes-Benz Classic commemorates a very special victory this year: 60 years ago the legendary 24-hour Le Mans race ended with a spectacular double victory, achieved with 300 SL (W 194 series) racing cars. The impressive racing successes of the “gullwing” became the basis for the worldwide fascination for the SL model series from Mercedes-Benz which has continued undiminished to the present day. The trade fair presentation is organised in coordination with Mercedes-Benz France.
In the 1950s, a very special star rose in Stuttgart: the Mercedes-Benz SL-Class was born. It all began with motor racing sports. With its successes in international competitions, in 1952 the 300 SL competition sports car (W 194 series, “SL” stands for “Super-Light”), became the initial spark for the start of two fascinating production sports cars – the “Gullwing” coupé and the roadster: the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL and 190 SL laid the foundation for the tradition of this legendary sports car family in the year 1954.
The roots of the SL-Class lie in motor racing: in the early 1950s, Mercedes-Benz developed the 300 SL, W 194 series racing car. It was a unique blend of three ingredients: lightweight construction, aerodynamics and reliability. The original SL was presented to the stunned press on 12 March 1952 on the motorway between Stuttgart and Heilbronn – a surprise coup absolutely in line with the later great sports successes of the W 194.
125 years of the automobile was a momentous anniversary – and celebrations of this milestone represented the main focus of our activities in 2011. “Over the year, Mercedes-Benz Classic was able to demonstrate the fascination of the
Mercedes-Benz brand on a world-wide basis. We were able to move both people and vehicles,” commented Michael Bock, Head of Mercedes-Benz Classic and Managing Director of the Mercedes-Benz Museum GmbH. “Vehicles from our own collection alone played a part in 1,400 events – almost twice as many as would be normal in a year without such an anniversary.
The total number of visitors to the Mercedes-Benz Museum rose once again in 2011, to 701,000. On the year marking the automobile's 125th anniversary, the visitors came from 175 countries worldwide. The newly designed Legend 6 exhibition room and the special 'Art & Stars & Cars' exhibition additionally attracted new target groups to the Mercedes-Benz Museum. Almost 4000 guided tours were conducted in ten different languages.
75 years ago – from 20 February to 7 March 1937: the Mercedes-Benz 320 (model series W 142) was presented at the Berlin Motor Show. Its outstanding features included high levels of spaciousness, comfort and convenience.
Building on our heritage, and innovation builds on tradition. Mercedes-Benz Classic embraces these values in a very special way through its Archives and Collection department. The archive, one of the largest business archives anywhere in Europe and undoubtedly the most complete in the automotive industry, provides a documentary record of the outstanding history of the company, its products and ideas dating back to the invention of the automobile in 1886. Its contents are testimony to the ability to develop visionary designs, and document a varied economic and social history.
