10 things you didn’t know about Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz was established when two German automobile companies run by Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler and Karl Friedrich Benz merged to create the Daimler Benz Company in 1926. Soon after it was renamed to Mercedes Benz. The first joined car they produced was the 770 model which Hitler was known to drive with a bulletproof windshield. Over the years the Mercedes Benz has been a leader in innovation, technology and, safety. It has developed some of the most popular luxury cars of all times. Mercedes’ slogan is ‘Best or nothing’.

Here are 10 things you didn’t know about Mercedes-Benz, brought to you by The Second Angle.

• Karl Benz created the first modern automobile: Karl Benz was actually the first to create and patent the first modern automobile in 1886. His vehicle was called the Patent Motorwagen and it was comprised of three wheels. A steel tube frame, wooden panels and, a small gasoline-powered engine. It only had two-thirds horsepower but Karl had to start somewhere. His wife financed and marketed the invention.

• The Mercedes name came from an eleven-year-old girl: The Mercedes brand name came about as a result of an Austrian diplomat and racing enthusiast Emil Jellinek, insisting that the series of 36 sports car he ordered from the Daimler Company be named after his 11-year-old daughter Mercedes. Daimler decided to stick with the name as the car quickly developed an impressive reputation. They trademark the brand in 1902.

• Bertha Benz was the first person to take a road trip in a modern automobile: Bertha Benz, the wife of Karl Benz brought national attention to the Benz Patent Motorwagen when she and her sons drove the car 130 miles round trip. It was the first time an automobile was driven any considerable distance.

• Mercedes Benz has a special partnership with the Kempinski Hotel: The Kempinski hotel is located in the Bavarian Alps in Germany, is a five-star hotel that is at the height of luxury with breath-taking views, lavish amenities, and impeccable service. Guests at the hotel have an access to the luxurious and powerful Mercedes AMG GTS that they can drive during their stay. This part of an exclusive partnership that Mercedes has made with the hotel chain.

Read: Top 10 Richest Actors in the world | Updated as of 2021

• The Mercedes-Maybach S650 Cabriolet is the most expensive model to date: Mercedes unveiled their most expensive model to date in 2016 at a Los Angeles auto show. The Mercedes-Maybach S650 Cabriolet is an in-demand convertible. Especially since the production of the model is limited to 300. It also carries the highest price tag of around 320 thousand dollars.

• Mercedes Benz has a partnership with luxury hotels to offer their drivers special benefits: Mercedes Benz wants to help their owners to extend the luxury of their world-class cars to other avenues in life and one way they do this is partnering with select high-end hotels to give Mercedes Benz driver a royal treatment. Other benefits offered by a number of luxury five-star hotels include a hundred dollar credit towards amenities, free cocktails and meal, mineral pool access, discounted attraction tickets, spa packages, and more.

• The three-pointed logo almost had a 4^th point added: The Mercedes Benz three-pointed logo represents domination on land, air, and water. The logo has evolved through the years with the first three-pointed star being used in 1909. There was a discussion on adding a fourth star to represent space as well.

• Karl Benz was given the very first driver’s license: Individual states and countries started exploring the need to issue driver’s licenses in the early 1900s. But Karl Benz has the distinction for being the first to secure a license to operate a motor vehicle in 1888. He had requested the written permission of the local authorities after there had been several complaints in his communities about the noise and smell of his first modern automobile type.

• The S Class now comes with a perfuming system: Renowned perfumer Marc vom Ende was recruited to develop four scents that will be available for the perfume atomizer which will be included in the S Class models. The perfumes are called ‘Freeside Mood’, ‘Sports Mood’. ‘Nightlife Mood’, and the ‘Downtown Mood’. They were all designed around the ides of luxury and quality of life.

• The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG has door hinges that can explode: The 180 thousand Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG was manufactured around 2011 to 2015 and it is still a popular exotic car today. One of the defining features of this car is the gull-wing doors and the Mercedes Benz actually built explosive charges into the hinge pins of the doors that will be triggered by yanking on the door handles after the car is upside down for a short amount of time.

• One of the Popemobiles most commonly used by Pope Benedict XVI was a Mercedes-Benz: Although the current pope, Pope Francis prefers to travel in more modest vehicles like a modified Ford Focus, Jeep wrangler, and a Fiat 500 L. The Popemobile of choice used by Pope Benedict the XVI was a modified Mercedes-Benz M-Class SUV. His special vehicle cost around 450 thousand dollars.

• They created a self-driving semi-truck: Mercedes offers a glimpse to the future of automation with the introduction of their future truck 2025 concept vehicle. Besides having the ability to self-drive, the truck features LED lightings that are white when driven and blue when operating autonomous mode.

• The first car in Nepal was a Mercedes given to the king by Hitler: Adolf Hitler wanted to give something special to the King of Nepal in 1940. So, he sends him a 1939 model Mercedes-Benz. Due to the lack of proper roads in the country, numerous labours had to carry the vehicle for several days to the capital city. The car was used regularly by King Tribhuvan until his death in 1955.

• A Swiss businessman’s Mercedes-Benz was put on the market for $10,000,000: A Swiss businessman hired 35 men who worked a total of more than 35 thousand dollars to customize his Mercedes Mclaren SLR into the red and gold car of his dreams. The customizations alone cost over 5 million dollars with 25 layers of red paint combined with 5 kilograms of gold dust, 24 karat gold-covered wheels, gold-covered headlights, and door sills.

• A 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 is the 3^rd most expensive car ever sold at auction: This record-breaking Mercedes-Benz W196 was part of a group of race cars that won 9 championship qualifying gran pre races in 1954 and 55 and is the only W196 race car not house in a museum or owned by Mercedes-Benz. The car was sold at auction in 2016 in the UK for 30 million 433 thousand dollars. This was a record for Mercedes-Benz and made it the third most expensive car ever sold at an auction behind the Ferrari 230 GTO and the Ferrari 335 S.

Now that you’ve learned more about Mercedes-Benz, do you think it ranks in the top three luxury car brands of all time?

Also Read: Top 10 Richest Actors In The World