Mercedes-Benz

Lore & Background

Mercedes-Benz traces its origins to Carl Benz's first internal combustion engine in a car, seen in the Benz Patent-Motorwagen – financed by Bertha Benz's dowry and patented in January 1886 – and Gottlieb Daimler and its engineer Wilhelm Maybach's conversion of a stagecoach, with the addition of a petrol engine, introduced later that year. The Mercedes automobile was first marketed in 1901 by Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG). Emil Jellinek, an Austrian automobile entrepreneur who worked with DMG, registered the trademark in 1902, naming the 1901 Mercedes 35 hp after his daughter Mercédès Jellinek. At the Nice race he attended in 1899, Jellinek drove under the pseudonym 'Monsieur Mercédès'. Many consider that race the birth of Mercedes-Benz as a brand. The first Mercedes-Benz branded vehicles were produced in 1926, following the merger of Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler's companies into the Daimler-Benz company on 28 June of the same year. Throughout the 1930s, Mercedes-Benz produced the 770 model. From 1937 onward, Daimler Benz focused increasingly on military products. In 1958, the two companies began a partnership to sell its cars in the United States with Studebaker. Over the decades, Mercedes-Benz has introduced many electronic and mechanical innovations and safety features that later became common. The pontiff's Popemobile has often been sourced from Mercedes-Benz. In November 2019, Daimler AG announced that Mercedes-Benz would be spun off into a separate, wholly owned subsidiary called Mercedes-Benz AG. In May 2022, Mercedes-Benz announced that it had recently sold the most expensive car at the price of $142 million (€135 million). In June 2022, Mercedes-Benz recalled almost one million vehicles built between 2004 and 2015, due to potential problems with their braking system.

In Their Own Story

The morning mist clings to the Mulsanne Straight as the silence of the pre-race grid is shattered by the roar of V8 engines. A silver prototype, sleek and menacing under the floodlights, pulls away from the pit wall. The driver's hands grip the wheel with practiced ease, eyes scanning the horizon for the chicane ahead. This is not just a race; it is a continuation of a legacy written in aluminum and oil, where every lap honors the ghosts of the Silver Arrows who once ruled this very track.

Reader's Guide

It mentions a 1955 Le Mans disaster where a Mercedes was involved, but does not give details on overall wins, drivers, or pre-war entries. For accurate Le Mans data, consult other sources.

Did You Know?

• Many consider the 1899 Nice race, where Emil Jellinek drove under the pseudonym 'Monsieur Mercédès', the birth of Mercedes-Benz as a brand.
• In 1958, Mercedes-Benz began a partnership with Studebaker to sell its cars in the United States.
• In May 2022, Mercedes-Benz sold the most expensive car at $142 million (€135 million), a rare 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé.