If you’re a regular reader of eMercedesBenz, you’re no doubt familiar with the origins of the Mercedes-Benz brand and the three-pointed star. But for those of you who are just joining us or those of you who may have missed our past coverage on the subject, Daimler today has published a refresher course detailing briefly the historical milestones that led to the Mercedes-Benz we know and love today.

A few of the topics covered include where the name Mercedes was derived from, what led to the introduction of the three-pointed star and what the star symbolizes. Also shown are the various incarnations of the logo over the years, each of which played an instrumental role in helping shape one of the most recognizable brands in existence.

To view these and a host of other details regarding the history of the Mercedes-Benz brand, you can find more info in the official press release below or for a quicker and more visual way to view the Mercedes-Benz history, skip straight to the photo gallery.

Enjoy.

Gottlieb Daimler and his ingenious colleague Wilhelm Maybach moved to Cannstatt near Stuttgart in 1882. Differences between the fifty-year-old Nikolaus August Otto and Daimler, two years his junior, had led to the latter’s departure from the Gasmotorenfabrik Deutz on the outskirts of Cologne. Now a wealthy man Daimler, could afford to make himself independent.

For 75,000 Goldmarks he bought a villa in Taubenheimstrasse in Cannstatt and moved there with his wife Emma and five children in June 1882. The property was ideal for his purposes: not only was it directly next to the spa facilities Daimler regularly visited for treatment for his weak heart, but it also benefited from a large garden and spacious summer house. He had an extension added to the latter, and installed a gas and water supply – his test workshop was ready.

In early October, Maybach also arrived in Cannstatt. He moved into a nearby property and initially converted one room of his apartment into a design office. Here he kept the drawing board on which he turned Daimler’s ideas into technical drafts: Maybach was skilled at giving them a functional form – and Daimler knew the value of his technician. When the two men agreed a contract even before leaving Deutz, Maybach was guaranteed substantial remuneration.

The goal shared by the two men was to develop a small, lightweight high-speed engine that was above all suitable for powering a vehicle. They were not alone, however. All around the world others were working on the same idea.

In 1885, the so-called riding car was built in Gottlieb Daimler's workshop as a test unit to prove the suitability of Daimler's and Wilhelm Maybach's gas or petroleum engine for everyday use.

Without knowing of each other’s work, Daimler and Benz had by this time already come to a common starting point: they both opted for petrol as the fuel for their engines and they would be the first to realise their efforts. The decision to use this fuel, which had excellent combustion characteristics, was fundamental to their internal combustion engines for vehicles.

Key decisions: fuel and ignition system

A second stumbling block in engine technology was the ignition system. This was so slow in conventional stationary engines of the day that it restricted maximum engine speed and therefore engine output, since the ignition processes could not be repeated quickly enough. Maybach dedicated himself to this problem, working his way through innumerable patent documents until he finally came across the Englishman Watson’s uncontrolled hot-tube ignition system, which proved suitable for the high engine speeds they aspired to. The hot-tube ignition system devised by Maybach guaranteed steady ignition.

Daimler was to apply the hot-tube ignition system to his engines until 1898. They worked on a simple principle: a tube, heated from the outside, protruded into the cylinder at about the position occupied by the spark plug today. When compressed by the piston in the cylinder, the fuel mixture was pushed against the hot tube and ignited spontaneously.

In a legal document, written to counter an invalidity suit lodged against his hot-tube ignition patent, Daimler described the problems associated with this invention: “It was a lengthy process, requiring endless experimentation and the unstinting and dedicated efforts of the practised and experienced engineer. And this despite initially wholly discouraging results in experimenting with free ignition, and with the many and frequent ‘premature igniters’, which during the drive and compression phases, before dead centre was reached, suddenly and unexpectedly kicked the flywheel backwards instead of driving it forwards, wrenching the crank from the hand of the experimenter with the force of an electric shock, and thus making the practicability of uncontrolled self-ignition seem unachievable; but nevertheless by refusing to give in and through stubborn experimentation, as well as modifications to the shape and dimensions of the combustion chamber and changes to the mixture charge etc. I achieved acceptable and ultimately excellent results and thus confirmation of the feasibility of my uncontrolled ignition system.”

In 1885, the so-called riding car was built in Gottlieb Daimler's workshop as a test unit to prove the suitability of Daimler's and Wilhelm Maybach's gas or petroleum engine for everyday use.

Once this hurdle had been overcome, it was time to find the prototype engine’s correct right method of operation. From their work at the Gasmotorenfabrik Deutz, both men were very familiar with the four-stroke principle. They opted for this, presumably knowing that Otto’s four-stroke patent DRP 532 was still valid, even though it was coupled with Otto’s layer-by-layer charging of the cylinder and a slow combustion of the gas mixture. In the patent specification for DRP No. 28022, awarded on 16 December 1883, Daimler therefore justified his application for a “Gas engine with hot-tube ignition” for uncooled and heat-insulated engine with uncontrolled hot-tube ignition by focusing on its explosive and rapid combustion. The patent was a masterpiece in the art of wording, since strictly speaking it was the same as Otto’s four-stroke principle and would subsequently become the object of bitter patent lawsuits. But Daimler’s claim was upheld. On 23 December 1883 he was granted German Patent No.

DRP 28243 for the “Regulation of engine speed by controlling the exhaust valve”, another important invention for the efficient operation of the internal combustion engine.

Birth of the first prototype engine in 1883

In the second half of 1883 Daimler and Maybach then built the first prototype engine, a horizontal four-stroke single-cylinder unit. Thanks to the hot-tube ignition and curved groove control operating the exhaust valve, from a displacement of approximately

100 cubic centimetres it developed an output of around 0.18 kW at 600 rpm, considerably higher than the previous peak engine speeds of 180 rpm achieved by a four-stroke gas engine. The intake valve, known as a “snifting valve” opened and closed automatically with the aid of vacuum pressure . The engine block was specially cast at the Kurz bell foundry in Stuttgart, where it was recorded in the order books as a “small model engine”. The company delivered it on 15 August 1883.

On account of its revolutions per minute the engine was termed “high-speed”. The various inventions that followed over the next few years were aimed at increasing engine speed – the logical way to further improving output. Even then, however, consideration was given to efficiency in order to maximise running time of the engine using available fuel reserves in the tank.

The next version of the prototype engine was unveiled in 1884. This time it was a vertical four-stroke single-cylinder unit, dubbed the “grandfather clock” on account of its appearance. It was registered for patent on 3 April 1885 (DRP No. 34926). It was specifically designed for low weight and compactness to fulfil the condition that it was suitable for installation in vehicles. Initial output was 0.74 kW. The design was innovative also in that the transmission components and flywheel were enclosed in an oil and dust-tight crankcase. The engine also featured for the first time the “floating” carburettor – better known today as the surface carburettor – developed by Maybach, which enabled problem-free combustion of petrol. This floating carburettor ensured a constant volume of fuel; since the air was fed through a constantly high fuel layer it was possible to achieve a constant fuel-air mix – a crucial and fundamental invention for regular engine operation.

The patent specifications included a sub-clause which was remarkable in its foresight: “An atomising pump may be used in the place of the vaporising device” – a concept that later gave rise to the injection pump.

The riding car – first test vehicle

The first test vehicle for the “grandfather clock” was the riding car of 1885. A two-wheeled vehicle, this closely resembled the bicycle – this too was a relatively recent invention and still considered state-of-the-art. But for stability reasons Daimler opted for wood as the material for his frame. The engine was mounted beneath the driving seat in 1885. From a displacement of 265 cubic centimetres it developed an output of 0.4 kW at 600 rpm. Power was transmitted from the engine belt pulley via a drive belt to the rear wheels. Two speeds were possible – 6 or 12 km/h – depending on the belt pulley selected at standstill.

Replica of the Daimler riding car of 1885 in the spa gardens of Bad Cannstatt. The riding car is the world's first motorbike. Gottlieb Daimler applied for the patent on 29 August 1885.

The engine even incorporated a consistent approach to the principles of lightweight design, as one detail in particular demonstrated: Maybach’s cylinder design was not attached by means of a flange, instead the lower part of the cylinder was reinforced slightly and equipped with a fine screw thread. Around fifty years later this design was revisited when engineers were seeking a light and secure method for fitting aero engine cylinders.

A contemporary publication described the operation of the riding car: “To start the engine one must first light the small flame beneath the hot ignition tube and crank the engine once using the crank; these preparations take only a minute. The engine runs smoothly, since a silencer dampens exhaust gases entering the exhaust pipe. To set the vehicle in motion, the driver climbs aboard, takes hold of the steering bar and connects the engine to the bicycle. This is done by means of the lever, cord and tension pulley, which shifts the drive belt onto the pulley. The belt pulleys serve to vary the speed; with the drive belt set in the upper position the vehicle moves slowly, in the lower position one can move more quickly. The brake is pulled by means of a cord which is within easy reach of the driver; to bring the cycle to a standstill, one simply turns off the drive belt by means of a lever located between the seat and the steering wheel and all movement ceases.”

The riding car was the most important precursor to individual mobility achieved through the internal combustion engine. For one thing, it demonstrated the potential of the engine created by Daimler and Maybach to power a vehicle. But it also documented the fact that a human being could maintain full control of this engine for purposes of individual mobility. Subsequent automobiles would then develop this concept to a high level of maturity.

In November 1885 Gottlieb Daimler’s son Adolf successfully drove this unsprung, iron-wheeled “riding car” along the three-kilometre stretch between Cannstatt and Untertürkheim and back. Given the conditions of roads at the time, it could hardly have been a comfortable journey – nevertheless the world’s first “automobile” passed the test. For Daimler and Maybach it was merely a step on the way to inventing the motor car, which followed in 1886 in the form of the motor carriage – along with the Patent Motor Car of Carl Benz. The successes of the two inventors would go down as great moments in history.

XENATEC, best know for armoured limousines and individual luxury automobiles for VIP clients, is presenting a customer-specified XENATEC-Coupe. Called the Cruiserio and based on the Maybach 57 S, the release coincides with the 81st Geneva International Auto Show from March 1st through 6th. The presentation of the car, which will take place in a specially constructed pavilion in the gardens of “La Réserve” Hotel on the banks of Lake Geneva, also marks its world premiere.

The coupe was configured by XENATEC designer Fredrik Burchhardt to customer specifications and then built exclusively for him. The paintwork on this one-off is a matte finish applied by hand in several layers to create a shimmering brass tone. The overall paint finish is completed by a delicate silver along the vehicle’s flanks. This particular stylistic treatment – a hallmark of all Maybach automobiles – is the final touch to the work of art that is the XENATEC-Coupe and utterly unparalleled worldwide.

To sum up – designed by artists, manufactured for connoisseurs.

The interior is utterly exclusive, created from a stunning combination of buffalo hide in its natural, non-dyed mid-brown and dark nappa leather in espresso brown, all hand-stitched by master craftsmen. The vehicle footwells are lined entirely in soft Alcantara© finished in a warm blackberry tone. The same “blackberry” tone is also used as a contrasting color for the leather piping around the seats. The overall effect is further enhanced by the headliner finished in nappa leather to create a stunning contrast in this uniquely sumptuous feast of color, which is beautifully displayed at all times thanks to the custom-built panorama roof.

To sum up – the highest form of individualization, executed with perfect craftsmanship.

Technical Specifications

• No. of cylinders / arrangement- 12 / V
• Bore / stroke (mm)- 82,6 x 93,0
• Cubic capacity (cc)- 5.980
• Compression ratio- 9.0:1
• Rated output- 603 bhp @ 4800-5100 -12 PS / 450 kW @ 4800-5100
• Rated torque- 737 lb-ft @ 2000- 4000 -1000 Nm @ 2000- 4000
• Topspeed, approx.- 172 mph -275 km/h
• Fuel consumption city- 9.6 mpg -24,6 l/100 km
• Fuel consumption highway- 21.4 mpg -11,8 l/100 km
• Fuel consumption combined- 14.8 mpg -16,4 l/100 km
• CO2 emission, combined- 238 g/mi -390 g/km
• Fuel tank capacity / incl. Reserve- 21.4 / 3.7 gal -110 / 14 l
• Trunk capacity- 21.4 cubic feet -605 l
• Tires / Light-alloy wheels- 275/45R20 -8.5Jx20ET67

Mercedes-Benz landaulets in the post-war period saw a functional transformation of the landaulet, from a versatile body design for city and country motoring to a vehicle used almost solely as a parade car. This led to the landaulet design becoming an extreme rarity: during the second half of the 20th century Mercedes-Benz built only 59 landaulets based on the Mercedes-Benz 600 model (W 100), plus a few exclusive landaulets specially manufactured in the company’s workshops. Most famous of all are the Mercedes-Benz landaulets made as papal cars.

This tradition started in 1960 with a Mercedes-Benz 300 d landaulet. In fact Mercedes-Benz had already given the Vatican an official car for the pope’s use some decades before, in 1930. But in contrast to the earlier “Rome car” – a Mercedes-Benz Nürburg 460 Pullman limousine – this time the vehicle had a folding convertible top at the rear. Pope John XXIII himself had requested a landaulet body for the new automobile from Stuttgart. The meticulously handcrafted W 189 landaulet (only two of which were ever made) was based on a chassis with a wheelbase lengthened by around 45 centimeters to a total of 3.6 meters. The car was also around ten centimeters higher than the production model.

The three-liter six-cylinder in-line engine developing 160 hp/118 kW was the same as in the production version. This gave the papal car a top speed of 160 km/h, but of course it was generally driven at a much more sedate tempo on official outings. At such times, with the roof open, the rear side windows could be completely removed and placed in specially designed brackets in the trunk. The partition between front and rear seats and the front windows were electrically operated and lowered simply by pressing a button.

The locking devices for the roof mechanism were accessible from the driver’s seat, and the convertible top itself was opened and closed in a matter of seconds. Steps automatically opened out from the car floor when the rear doors were opened, making it easier for the pope to enter and alight from the vehicle. The throne-style seat for the pontiff was placed in the middle at the rear, facing in the direction of travel, with two folding seats opposite, attached to the partition, for accompanying staff. Around the papal seat, which was electrically adjustable, were the controls for air conditioning, intercom and other functions. At the presentation of the car in 1960, the pope was clearly delighted with the vehicle equipment.

Landaulet as small-run production series: Mercedes-Benz 600

The 300 d landaulet attracted considerable attention – but the most notable development in the history of this body design in the second half of the 20th century came with the Mercedes-Benz factory-built landaulet versions of the 600 model (W 100). In the book “Mercedes-Benz 600” published in 2001, author Heribert Hofer describes the landaulet from this model series as “a genuine old-style parade car, a unique automotive treasure.” And indeed, heads of state like Queen Elizabeth Elisabeth II, Pope Paul VI and his successors and heads of government all around the world chose this model to greet onlookers as they drove through the streets. The German government also regularly called on a Mercedes-Benz 600 landaulet for ceremonial occasions, although the vehicle was not owned by the state. Instead, the car was kept in the company fleet in Stuttgart and made available on request.

Production of the 600 model, in the “Grand Mercedes” tradition, started in September 1964. The Pullman landaulet, along with a number of limousines, was a production variant of the Pullman body with the long wheelbase of the W 100. Mercedes-Benz offered its customers four different landaulet versions based on this exclusive design: the standard version had four doors, facing rear seats, and a folding top extending as far as the front edges of the rear doors. There was also a special six-door version with a seat bench in the rear and additional fold-out seats facing in the direction of travel. In this variant, as in the six-door Pullman limousine, the middle doors could also be provided without handles. Both the above landaulets – the four-door and six-door design – could also be equipped on request with a long convertible top reaching as far as the partition.

All these versions were based on a long-wheelbase W 100 chassis, but in 1967 a one-off short-wheelbase W 100 landaulet was also produced. The vehicle was commissioned by Count von Berckheim. The ex-racing driver’s Mercedes-Benz 600 combined the handling qualities of a short-wheelbase design with the traditional virtues of the landaulet. The time and effort involved in this one-off project indicates that the 59 Pullman landaulets built hardly represented a “series production” operation in the strict sense – in fact, with such a wide variety of interior equipment options and special features it would be difficult to find two identically-equipped 600 landaulets. But one thing all these vehicles had in common was their exceedingly high price. The exclusive body design with the folding convertible top did not appear on the official price list, but the Mercedes-Benz 600 was regarded as the world’s most expensive production car of its day.

Mercedes-Benz 600 landaulet for the Vatican

In 1965 Mercedes-Benz presented the Vatican with another landaulet based on the W 100 Pullman. The manufacture of the car was a cooperative project of the testing and production departments in Sindelfingen. The four-door landaulet was presented to Pope Paul VI at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo by Hermann Josef Abs, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Daimler-Benz AG, General Manager Walter Hitzinger, and Board of Management members Fritz Nallinger and Arnold Wychodil, along with Karl Wilfert and three employees from the Daimler-Benz plant in Sindelfingen.

The equipment of this landaulet differed from the production version in several details: the rear doors were 25.6 centimeters wider, and came right up to the partition. The rear doors also included new operating controls, designed to be within easy reach from the papal seat located centrally in the back of the passenger compartment. The designers at Sindelfingen made the roof seven centimeters higher to provide ample head room – a modification required because of the flat floor in the rear of the W 100, concealing the propeller shaft tunnel beneath. Special equipment included air conditioning, an intercom for communicating with the driver, and the ability to shift the single armchair-style seat at the rear in several different directions.

The pontiff was delighted with the sophisticated technology in his W 100. “The name of Mercedes has become proverbial all round the world for German diligence and skill – which makes this gift all the more precious,” said Paul VI in his words of appreciation for the automotive engineering achievements of the team in Stuttgart back in 1965. The Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman landaulet bearing the legendary license plate SCV 1 (the abbreviation for “Stato della Città del Vaticano”) is now on display in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.

W 109 and V 140 landaulets built in-house

And the specialists at Mercedes-Benz built another two landaulets for the Vatican in the years after 1965, both based on standard limousines. The first of these papal cars, built as early as 1966 with a single rear seat, was a landaulet based on a

Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL limousine (W 109 series) with standard wheelbase (2.85 meters). The seat could be moved to the right if necessary to create room for a passenger on the fold-out seat fitted on the partition. This car remained in use for many years, in parallel with the W 100 landaulet. The 300 SEL was not equipped with quite the same level of luxury as the Mercedes-Benz 600 – for example there was no air conditioning in the shorter vehicle. The car was however retrofitted with armor plating in 1981.

This was followed in 1997 by a landaulet based on the Mercedes-Benz S 500 with a long wheelbase (V 140). Like its predecessors, this was a “no expense spared” one-off project that combined traditional values with contemporary technology. The car had numerous special equipment features. The electro-hydraulically operated convertible top, when closed, was five centimeters higher than in the limousine, to provide more head room above the papal seat. On taking delivery of the vehicle in person in 1997, Pope John Paul II was given a briefing on the car’s technical features and praised the design.

Heir to a great tradition

The 600 model was the only Mercedes-Benz ever built as a production landaulet over the last 60 years. However, the brand has repeatedly made good use of this type of bodywork with specially designed superstructures as for the papal cars. The sense of a unique driving culture that is epitomized in the landaulet is as strong as ever in Stuttgart. And it is this knowledge and living heritage from the past that provides the basis for the Maybach landaulet in 2007.

Technical details of Mercedes-Benz ceremonial cars

Mercedes-Benz 300 d landaulet with long wheelbase (W 189)

• Two units built, for the Vatican and the Mercedes-Benz factory fleet
• Six-cylinder in-line engine
• Displacement of 2996 cubic centimeters
• 160 hp/118 kW at 5300 rpm
• Wheelbase 3600 millimeters
• Length 5640 millimeters
• Width 1995 millimeters
• Height 1720 millimeters

Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL landaulet (W 109)

• One unit manufactured for the Vatican
• Six-cylinder in-line engine
• Displacement of 2996 cubic centimeters
• 170 hp/125 kW at 5400 rpm
• Wheelbase 2850 millimeters
• Length 5000 millimeters
• Width 1810 millimeters

Mercedes-Benz 600 landaulet with long wheelbase (W 100)

• 26 six-door and 32 four-door units produced
• V8 engine
• Displacement of 6332 cubic centimeters
• 250 hp/184 kW at 4000 rpm
• Wheelbase 3900 millimeters
• Length 6240 millimeters
• Width 1950 millimeters
• Height 1500 millimeters

Mercedes-Benz 600 landaulet with short wheelbase (W 100)

• One unit manufactured for Count von Berckheim
• V8 engine
• Displacement of 6332 cubic centimeters
• 250 hp/184 kW at 4000 rpm
• Wheelbase 3200 millimeters
• Length 5540 millimeters
• Width 1950 millimeters
• Height 1500 millimeters

Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman landaulet (W 100)

• Special version with modified doors, folding convertible top and interior One unit manufactured for the Vatican
• V8 engine
• Displacement of 6332 cubic centimeters
• 250 hp/184 kW at 4000 rpm
• Wheelbase 3900 millimeters
• Length 6240 millimeters
• Width 1950 millimeters
• Height 1570 millimeters

Mercedes-Benz S 500 long-wheelbase landaulet (V 140 E 50)

• One unit manufactured for the Vatican
• V8 engine
• Displacement of 4973 cubic centimeters
• 320 hp/235 kW at 5600 rpm
• Wheelbase 3140 millimeters
• Length 5213 millimeters
• Width 1886 millimeters
• Height 1526 millimeters

The combination of tradition and modernity embodied in the Maybach Landaulet study, makes this a truly unique vehicle of its time. The highly unusual body shape already defines the car as something quite out of the ordinary. But the unique combination of the fold-back roof at the rear and a solid roof section over the front seats also reflects the fine appreciation of tradition and values that is the hallmark of the Mercedes-Benz Cars approach.

The body of the landaulet harks back to the early days of automotive history. Just a few years after the invention of the automobile by Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz in 1886 – working independently of each other – both companies had large numbers of landaulets on the roads. The Mercedes-Benz brand created in 1926 took up the idea, and over the years landaulets based on a range of model were built, both in normal production plants and by prestigious bodybuilders. The last landaulet variant available as a production car was the 600 model (W 100 series) from 1965 until 1981. The company’s in-house special vehicle manufacturing workshops also built three different landaulets for the Vatican in the second half of the 20th century.

Distinctive folding top

The landaulet is one of the true aristocrats among special body designs, and indeed its origins go back to the days of the coachbuilder’s art. Its hallmark is a “rigid, closed passenger compartment with a folding convertible top,” according to the Mercedes-Benz definition. What this means in practice is a folding convertible top over the rear seats, adjacent to a rigid top or solid partition. Depending on the variant, the driver might be out in the open, or – as is usual in today’s bodies of this type – in his own compartment, after the style of a limousine.

In any event, the choice between closed or open-top travel is only available to the passengers in the rear. The qualities of the landaulet as the perfect car for public figures are most evident when the opulent roof is swung back, focusing every eye on the occupants in the rear, and converting the landaulet into a stylish and elegant platform for public appearances. This is why vehicles with this unique body design are used almost exclusively by dignitaries and VIPs. And of course the roof can always be closed again, as protection from the weather or prying glances.

Maybach Landaulet study

The Maybach Landaulet study was created in response to requests from Maybach customers who still feel the thrill of landaulet vehicles from the days of sumptuously equipped coaches driving through the streets. The car is based on the Maybach 62 S. The C-pillars and roof arches remain in place when the top is pushed back, retaining the luxury limousine’s distinctive silhouette, along with the generously-dimensioned doors, stylish interior compartment and seating arrangements.

When the roof is closed, the convertible top is stretched over the roof frame, providing a tight seal against wind and weather. On the instruction to open the passenger compartment, the driver merely has to press a control on the center console, and the structure, together with the rear window, folds gently down onto the parcel shelf, without any significant loss of stowage space. The opening and closing of the convertible top is an efficient but unhurried process, like a smoothly choreographed dance, taking around 20 seconds to complete. The luggage compartment remains easily accessible even with the roof open. And the driver can cover the retracted top with a stylish leather tarpaulin, concealing the mechanism and restoring the smooth and elegant contours of the vehicle.

Historical Maybach landaulets

In the 1930s there were landaulet versions of several Maybach luxury limousines. In line with normal practice at the time, the body fitted to the chassis could be designed according to the owner’s individual requirements. The most popular models with landaulet customers were the twelve-cylinder Maybach 12, Maybach Zeppelin DS7 and Maybach Zeppelin DS8. The combination of letters and numerals used for the Zeppelin models stood for the V12 engine (double-six, = DS) and the displacement. The Zeppelin DS7, built in 1930 and 1931, had a 150 hp (110 kW) engine with displacement of 6922 cubic centimeters, while its successor, produced from 1931 to 1939, generated 200 hp (147 kW) from a 7922 cubic centimeter engine.

Nor was the circle of Maybach landaulet aficionados restricted to statesmen and captains of industry. There were others for whom maintaining a high public profile was a business necessity, and an automobile that could put its occupants on show like jewels in a display case simply by folding the roof back was clearly ideal for the purpose. For example, in 1930 the Sembach-Krone family commissioned the Erdmann & Rossi bodybuilders’ firm to build a Zeppelin DS7, specifying a burgundy-colored landaulet body, as a management vehicle for the legendary Krone circus. This elegant car with its long folding top is now on show at the Sinsheim Auto and Technology Museum.

Also featured in the Sinsheim collection is a 1938 landaulet version of the Zeppelin DS8 with a top speed of 160 km/h. This body, with a short folding top, was made by Hermann Spohn in Ravensburg. Spohn was the regular bodybuilder for Maybach, located just twenty kilometers away in Friedrichshafen.

Origins in coach-building

The body form of the landaulet, or “half-landau” as it is sometimes known, owes much to the construction of horse-drawn coaches. The landau (or sometimes “Landauer” in German) was an open coach, probably named after the town of Landau in the Palatinate region of Germany. The passengers sat facing each other, and could be protected by two half-roof sections, pulled over them from either end of the vehicle when required. The coachman sat on a box seat, well away from the passenger compartment. The landaulet structure differed in that it only had the rear half-roof covering. And depending on the design, the driver’s compartment in front of the passenger seats could have a rigid roof, a glass top or a front windshield.

At the end of the 19th century the customary distinction in coach construction between the landau and landaulet was carried over into automotive design, with Daimler and Benz both initially making cars with landaulet and landau bodies.

Glory days of the landaulet

But events were to prove that only the landaulet had a viable future in the age of the automobile. One of the reasons was clearly that as speeds increased, passengers became more reluctant to sit with their backs to the direction of travel. The landaulet design emerged as the accepted form, and became increasingly popular with customers. But during the heyday of landaulet bodywork in the first half of the 20th century there was still no consistent or standard design.

One of the major points of difference was in the area of the driver’s seat. The box-seat of the Daimler belt-driven landaulet of 1896 for use as a taxi left the driver completely unprotected. In comparison, a 25/45 hp Benz landaulet from 1910 offered the driver a windshield and a rigid roof, but no doors or side windows. Side doors – but still no windows – were added in the 8/20 hp Benz of 1912.

Subsequent landaulet models reversed the principle of leaving the chauffeur out in the open – the driver was now protected by a windshield on all sides, as in a limousine, but the folding convertible top over the rear seats continued to offer flexibility for the passengers. This more contemporary form of the landaulet was used in luxury models such as the 15/70/100 hp Mercedes-Benz 400 Pullman landaulet from the late 1920s, and also in the landaulet taxicabs based on the Mercedes-Benz 260 D from 1936.

Landaulet as a taxicab

Al fresco motoring proved particularly attractive to taxicab customers – as indicated by the large numbers of taxicabs supplied with a landaulet body. In fact a landaulet became the world’s very first taxi when a Stuttgart-based haulage and taxicab operator, Friedrich August Greiner, ordered a Victoria landaulet with a taximeter from Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) under order no. 1329. The vehicle was duly delivered in May 1897, and the world’s first motorized taxi went into service in June, once the required permit had been obtained from the police. The vehicle cost its owner the small fortune of 5530 Mark. Included in that price were the landaulet half-convertible top, two dash leather coverings, reverse gear and solid rubber tires.

In the following decades both Daimler and Benz, and from 1926 Mercedes-Benz, supplied taxis based on this distinctive body design. The 12/30 hp Benz was actually marketed from 1913 to 1914 solely as a taxicab landaulet. In this period the landaulet became just as popular with taxi passengers as with VIPs. However the design was never in high demand for private automobiles for everyday use. In his reference work entitled “The modern automobile and its maintenance and repair” and published in 1921, Max Peter wrote: “The advantages of open-top and closed-top vehicles are to some extent combined in the landaulet which can be driven as either. Because of the ability to adapt the body structure according to the season, this body design is associated above all with taxi automobiles, and probably for this reason it is less popular for private cars, notwithstanding its undeniable advantages.” This quote is taken from the section dealing mainly with taxis and private cars of the traditional kind. The “elegant landaulet”, in contrast, is classified under a separate category specifically for parade cars.

Evolution of an elite body design

The folding convertible top design as a luxury variation on the automobile was discussed by authors Ernst Misol and Hermann Klaiber in 1913 in their book entitled “What do I need to know about my car, and how should I drive it to comply with the authorities’ regulations?” Misol and Klaiber emphasized the advantages of different body styles for different purposes: “A luxury car used only in city traffic should always have a fully enclosed body, i.e. the limousine design. But for shorter journeys outside city limits, preference is to be given to the landaulet with its retractable top at the rear.”

Owners of luxury landaulet cars in the pre-World War I period included Emperor Wilhelm II. The emperor’s first vehicle of this type was a 39/75 hp Mercedes chain-driven landaulet, which he used as a traveling car. This was followed in 1911 by a 38/70 hp Mercedes landaulet for the same purpose. The emperor then chose a 28/60 hp Mercedes landaulet as a city car in 1913. And during a visit by the heir to the Romanian throne in 1913, the monarch and his guest were driven through the streets in a 26/65 hp Mercedes-Knight landaulet.

Following the end of the imperial era, in 1938 Mercedes-Benz presented Paul von Hindenburg with a 12/55 hp Mercedes-Benz 300 six-seater landaulet: Hindenburg had been elected as President of the Weimar Republic in 1925, as the successor to Friedrich Ebert.

Stuttgart’s Maybach Manufaktur automotive hand-finishing section is exploring radical new avenues for the urban mobility of the future. As seen at the the Los Angeles Design Challenge with the electrically powered luxury rickshaw. The Maybach DRS – “Den-Riki-Sha” (electrically driven rickshaw) – blends the very latest automotive technology, luxurious comfort, and the highest safety levels with the needs of an environmentally aware world and the traditional values of the classic “Jin-Riki-Sha” (human-powered rickshaw). The futuristic four-seater is created through metamorphosis from a DNA cocoon, making it the world’s first naturally manufactured vehicle. The rickshaw was developed by the designers at the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Studios in Tokyo.

The challenge set before designers at Maybach was to draw a complete vision of a car that weighs 1,000 pounds (around 454 kilogrammes) (kerb weight). The remit was to create a four-seater small car that was safe and comfortable, offering good handling and first-class design. “This was a major challenge – in particular for a brand such as Maybach, whose luxury has thus far manifested itself not least in the vehicles’ size. This is why, when building the Maybach DRS, we combined the European concept of luxury with the Asian feel for optimum use of space, so we were able to create a vehicle which blends both in an intelligent manner. Thereby we have shortly undermatched the weight limit”, explained Holger Hutzenlaub, who heads the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Studios in Tokyo.

The amalgamation of organic intelligence and biomechanical engineering artistry

Breathtaking looks, polished luxury, and technical brilliance characterise the ambitious development of the Maybach DRS. The design is reminiscent of a butterfly’s cocoon, light and elegant as it floats between two oversized wheels. The rickshaw is made in a unique, natural production process. Through a complex and perfect metamorphosis a finished vehicle is developed from a DNA cocoon: Organic intelligence blends with advanced biomechanical engineering. The result is a futuristic combination of an ultralight structure and an unparalleled luxury exterior and interior – for a limited number of exclusive vehicles.

The vehicle frame consists of carbon fibres and organic composite materials, whilst the doors and windows are made of injection-moulded polycarbonate and the panoramic roof of flexible organic composite materials. The Maybach DRS is powered by two 20 kW electric motors which are positioned in the wheel hubs and are self-balancing. The energy required is produced by a lithium-ion battery in the tail end. An on-board computer ensures optimum control, communicating with the metropolis’s transport infrastructure, and thus guaranteeing a smooth, luxurious ride through the city. In order to increase the vehicle’s range, the human/electric hybrid also allows additional pedal force, which is produced by the driver.

Staying true to the grand Maybach tradition of luxurious mobility, the Maybach DRS – “Den-Riki-Sha” – is carrying forward this heritage, paying homage to the roads of tomorrow.

At the St. Moritz Art Masters festival the German luxurious car brand Maybach presented its new mentoring project for the up-and-coming American photographer Garret Suhrie. Star photographer David LaChapelle and the Wilhelm & Karl Maybach Foundation are supporting the highly talented artist for a whole year, paving the way to an international career for him.

The leitmotif of this joint undertaking is the re-interpretation of “Exposure of Luxury”. At the same time it forms the next step of the cooperation with the US star photographer, which began a year ago with the artistic showcasing of Maybach luxury saloons and bore the titles “Exposure of Luxury” and “Berlin Stories”. Both photos are on display during the St. Moritz Art Masters – for selected guests at the Chesa Lumpaz. A lavish catalogued documentation of the photo shoot, by the name of “Bliss amongst Chaos” gives a comprehensive insight into the way in which David LaChapelle works.

In 26-year-old Garret Suhrie the team has found an up-and-coming photographer who already displayed an enormous amount of talent in his younger years, when he would document the decaying industrial facilities in his home city of Harrisburg in Pennsylvania. After training to become a photographer in Philadelphia, Tokyo and Rome, he moved to Los Angeles, where he has been working since 2007. His portfolio encompasses a comprehensive range of works in the spheres of advertising, fashion and also editorial photo spreads for magazines like Flaunt, Blink and Collective. Several exhibitions, plus the inclusion of his pictures in National Geographic’s photo archive bear witness to the aspiring photographer’s abilities. Since 2007 Garret Suhrie has been working with David LaChapelle as a studio manager. During the St. Moritz Art Masters some images from his extensive oeuvre are also being shown at the Chesa Lumpaz.

“The nomination of Garret Suhrie as the mentoring scheme’s protégé was made unanimously”, explained Patrick Marinoff, Global Brand Manager Maybach. “He bowled everyone over with his huge talent and his very personal pictorial language. That’s why we are delighted to be able to support him on what will without doubt be his very successful career path”. Jutta Aldenhoff, Executive Director of the Wilhelm & Karl Maybach Foundation added: “All those involved in this mentoring project will play their part in ensuring that the year is a successful one for Garret Suhrie. The Wilhelm & Karl Maybach Foundation is going to take on the project management role and together with David LaChapelle we will implement an individual plan for the mentoring year’s content and schedule.”

Tailor-made excellence – the mentoring scheme

“One of the most important things I can do in my career is to share my experience with aspiring artists. I have had the honor to work with and learn from some of the most important artists of our time. I feel that the time they spent with me would be wasted if I didn’t share what I learned from them. The Maybach Mentorship program has provided me with an amazing opportunity to share that knowledge with a young artist whose talent I believe in. I hope that in working with Garret Suhrie, I am able to offer him a fraction of the knowledge that so many have shared with me”, explained David LaChapelle. The star photographerwill be helping Garret Suhrie until August 2011, and during this time he will be accompanying his protégé at work and letting him share his experiences. In addition to this the young photographer will gain access to contacts on the international art scene via the network of David LaChapelle and the Maybach Foundation. The Maybach Foundation will also be organising exhibitions of his pictures in Europe and the USA, and integrating him in its own activities. A wide range of communications measures and financial support round off the package which the scheme is providing. The aim is to foster Garret Suhrie’s great talent with an eye on the long term, preparing the ground for an international career as a top photographer. “Until now, I’ve mostly been keeping my work to myself, not sharing it with any public audience. The most valuable thing anybody can give me is a forum to share my passions that are conveyed through the language of photography. So I am happy to have been chosen for the Maybach Mentorship program and hope to be able to pass on my experiences one day too”, said Garret Suhrie.

Maybach – commitment to art, focusing on three principal areas

For a number of years now Maybach has been successfully established in the international world of contemporary art. This tradition-steeped automotive Manufaktur works together with top international artists and backs renowned institutions on the art scene. This involvement began back in 2005, in the form of support for the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude and their spectacular project “The Gates” in New York’s Central Park.

Following further partnerships, the luxury brand presented the Maybach Art Cars – designed by Tim Berresheim in August 2009. The spectacular cooperation with David LaChapelle came later that same year. As well as working alongside individual artists, providing long-term support for internationally reputed institutions in the art world is another of the main focal points of Maybach’s involvement in art. These include the partnership with the Fondation Beyeler and cooperation with the Fondation Maeght. Maybach is also present at important events in the field of art, such as the St. Moritz Art Masters and Art Basel Miami Beach.

This work is rounded off by the linking of art and social commitment – in keeping with the mentoring philosophy of the Wilhelm & Karl Maybach Foundation. Through its involvement in art, Maybach creates exclusive access to art itself, artists and renowned art fairs and also to the brand and the saloons for its customers – in a unique vein with which Wilhelm Maybach would certainly have identified when he created his legendary car: luxurious, fascinating and ahead of its time.

Updates for 2011 include a restyled exterior with a raised hood, larger grille, divided bumper, LED daytime running lights and darker tail lenses. Interior changes include .925 sterling silver “Maybach Manufaktur” badging in seat backrests, new seat stitching as well as new interior colors, trims and paints throughout the entire model line.

Maybach 57 & 57S

• V-12 bi-turbo powered Maybach 57 (543 hp, 664 lb-ft) continues with new 19-inch, 21-spoke light-alloy wheels.

• V-12 bi-turbo powered Maybach 57S (620 hp, 738-lb ft) continues with increased horsepower and new 20-inch, 12-spoke light-alloy wheels.

Maybach 62 & 62S

• V-12 bi-turbo powered Maybach 62 (543 hp, 664 lb-ft) continues with new 19-inch, 21-spoke light alloy wheels.

• V-12 bi-turbo Maybach 62S (620 hp, 738 lb-ft) continues with increased horsepower and new 20-inch, 12-spoke light-alloy wheels.

• A new optional 19” cinema screen can be mounted to the partition wall.

• Other luxurious features include full power closing of the rear doors, optionally available electro-transparent rear roof section and optional power glass partition with a retractable curtain and intercom system.

Maybach 62S Landaulet

• Exclusive V-12 bi-turbo powered Landaulet (620 hp, 738 lb-ft) continues with more horsepower, 20-inch wheels and a fixed roof over the driver with convertible black soft-top for rear passengers.

• Updates for 2011 include an optional 19” cinema screen mounted to the partition wall and individualized designs available for placement on the partition glass.

• The wind and weatherproof roof opens electro-hydraulically in just 16 seconds

• Other distinguishing features include Antigua white paint, 20-inch wheels painted in white with high-sheen spokes, and white indicators (front) and rear light clusters in dark red.

The first modern car was designed by Wilhelm Maybach, chief designer of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft, in 1900. The state-of-the-art 1000-kilogram car with a characteristic low centre of gravity was made for Emil Jellinek, as the first vehicle to bear the “Mercedes” name. Standout features of the new car included the visionary contours, marking the final break from coach construction, and the powerful drivetrain. The Mercedes was propelled by a completely new 27-kW light-alloy engine, cooled by Maybach’s new honeycomb radiator. These ingredients combined to make the 35 hp the first super-sports car in the history of our brand, at least when fitted out as such, since the car was supplied in a range of body styles according to customer preference, as was normal practice at the time.

The car’s top speed was 75 km/h, or just under 90 km/h with the light sports body. These figures were superior to any other vehicle of the day – and the DMG 35 hp Mercedes proceeded to dominate the Racing Week event in Nice, winning the hill climb, street race and one-mile sprint titles.

Wilhelm Maybach’s design also created the culture of Mercedes-Benz super-sports cars, since as well as being a highly successful racing car, the vehicle was also sold as an exclusive car for customers looking for a superior sports car. Emil Jellinek clearly had such ambitions when he commissioned this outstanding car from DMG. He had been operating in Nice on the Côte d’Azur as an independent car dealer since 1897, selling Daimler automobiles to the rich and famous. His customers included members of the Rothschild family and other VIPs of the day. By the time of Gottlieb Daimler’s death in 1900, Jellinek had sold 34 cars in this way – a respectable figure in an age of very low production runs.

Jellinek finally convinced Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach to build him a powerful car. The new DMG vehicle was to enter the Nice races under the name of “Mercedes”. Jellinek and his team had entered races under this pseudonym since 1899. Even then, he realised that, as well as being powerful advertising tools for their manufacturer, high-performance sports cars also provided a foretaste of series-production cars of the future: “I want the car of tomorrow!”, he told the DMG engineers. He placed a bulk order for 36 cars for a total price of 550,000 Mark.

The first new 35-hp car was delivered to Jellinek on 22 December 1900, and already on 4 January 1901 there was a report in the Côte d’Azur car magazine “L’Automobile-Revue du Littoral” reading as follows: “The place to see the latest trends at the moment is not Paris, but Nice. The first Mercedes car built in the workshops at Cannstadt has just arrived in Nice, and thanks to the kindness of its owner, Mr Jellinek, all our motorists have been able to try it out. We make no bones about it: the Mercedes appears to be a very, very good car. This remarkable vehicle will be a fearsome competitor in the 1901 racing season.”

These words were borne out in no uncertain terms during the Nice Racing Week in March 1901. The new Mercedes returned home with four first places and five second places to their credit, in such diverse events as the endurance race, the hill climb and the one-mile race. After watching these successes, Paul Meyan, General Secretary of the Automobile Club de France, coined the phrase “Nous sommes entrés dans l’ère Mercédès” (“We have just entered the Mercedes era”).

Maybach’s conviction that there would soon be customers for the exclusive high-performance sports car was proved right, with a list of buyers for the DMG Mercedes during 1901 including a string of American billionaires: Rockefeller, Astor, Morgan and Taylor.

The Mercedes 35 hp marks the beginning of a creative process that led to the production of numerous powerful and exclusive cars over the next few years, particularly the the models in the Simplex family. These were the fruit of Wilhelm Maybach’s tireless efforts to produce an even better successor for the first generation of Mercedes models. This project started in autumn 1901 and resulted in the top model of the 1902 year: the Mercedes-Simplex 40 hp. This car dominated the Nice Racing Week in April 1902 just as the first Mercedes had done one year before.

The next development stage of the race-winning super-sports car was the Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp of 1903. This vehicle enjoyed its hour of stardom as a racing car, but only as the result of a disastrous accident. In 1903, the Daimler factory in Cannstatt was largely destroyed in a fire. The casualties included the three Mercedes 90 hp cars to be raced in the Gordon Bennett race. So DMG decided to replace its factory racing vehicles with Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp cars, which the manufacturer borrowed back for the race from customers who had already received cars. One of these cars was driven to victory against very strong international competition by the Belgian racing driver Camille Jenatzy. So it was that the Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp came to stand for one of the most legendary motorsport successes of the Mercedes brand.

Other outstanding DMG models that can be regarded as forerunners preparing the way for contemporary super-sports cars include the six-cylinder Mercedes 75 hp (1906), the Mercedes 37/90 hp featuring three-valve technology, double ignition and encapsulated drive chains (1911), and the Mercedes 28/95 hp, powered by a six-cylinder engine inspired by aircraft technology, with overhead camshaft, V-shaped overhead valves and steel turned cylinders (1914).

Benz & Cie., a competitor of DMG up until the merger of the two companies in 1926, also made a little piece of super-sports car history in 1909 with a very famous car: the Benz 200 hp, which as the “Blitzen-Benz“ (or “Lightning Benz”) set numerous records and entered the technology history books as the fastest car of its time. It had a 21.5-litre engine developing an output of 147 kW, and definitely belongs in the ranks of the super-sports cars. In contrast with the experimental cars and “record-breaking cars” of later years, the Benz 200 hp was both sold to customers and entered in motorsport events.

Mercedes 35 hp

In production: from 1900 to 1902

Engine: 4-cylinder, in-line

Displacement: 5913 cc

Output: 26 kW at 1000 rpm

Top speed: 75 km/h

Mercedes-Simplex 40 hp

In production: from 1902 to 1903

Engine: 4-cylinder, in-line

Displacement: 6785 cc

Output: 29 kW at 1100 rpm

Top speed: 80 km/h

Mercedes 75 hp

In production: from 1906 to 1911 (including successor models)

Engine: 6-cylinder, in-line

Displacement: 10,180 cc

Output: 55 kW at 1300 rpm

Top speed: 95 km/h

Mercedes 37/90 hp

In production: from1911 to 1915 (including successor types)

Engine: 4-cylinder, in-line

Displacement: 9,530 cc

Output: 66 kW at 1300 rpm

Top speed: 115 km/h

Mercedes 28/95 hp

In production: 1914 to 1924 (all models)

Engine: 6-cylinder, in-line

Displacement: 7280 cc

Output: 69 kW at 1800 rpm

Top speed: 130 km/h