Specifications

No company has done more to improve the automobile than the one who invented it
In 1886,Karl Benz earned the patent for the first automobile.He went on to earn the
patents for the first motorcycle and the first truck,too.Having developed such
revolutionary ideas for their time,an ordinary man might have decided to rest on his
laurels.But Karl Benz loved machinery—especially automobiles.And he loved to
innovate,continually improving and even reinventing his ideas.Over the years,the
vision,spirit and determination of one man grew to become the defining character of
one company—Mercedes-Benz.Whether it’s the advancement of performance,safety,
durability or convenience,the inquisitive spirit of the man who invented the very first
automobile lives in everything we do,even to this day.You might say that Mercedes-Benz
has been reinventing the automobile for 119 years.
1886
The first car
1911
The first multivalve engine
1921
The supercharged engine
1931
Independent suspension
1936
The first diesel passenger car
1997
Touch Start
1996
Panorama roof
1997
SmartKey
1998
Head Protection
Curtains
1998
10-way air-bag
protection
1999
1982
Multilink rear
suspension
1985
Electronic
traction control
1989
The pop-up roll bar
1995
Electronic Stability
Program
1997
Low-emission
SUV
1997
Brake Assist
1997
BabySmart
™
system
1951
The crumple zone
1997
The first compact
fuel-cell car
195 4
Fuel injection
1971
A patent for
the air bag
1981
Seat-belt Emergency
Tensioning Device
(
ETD
)