It’s 1951; the inaugural Frankfurt International Motor Show. If anything represents the changing nature of postwar Germany, it’s this event, a successor to the Berlin Motor Show, a German tradition since 1897. But in the aftermath of World War II, and the division of Germany by the Allies, the separation of Berlin from West Germany changed that tradition. 

Opening this week in 1951, the new show’s success seems assured, as 518 exhibitors, 470 of them from West Germany, display their wares in 14 exhibit halls covering 17.5 acres.

Volkswagen, BMW, Ford and Auto Union each have their building. But it’s the Mercedes-Benz hall that reasserts the pre-eminence of one of the world’s leading automakers, returning from the ashes of its decimated manufacturing base. 

Daimler’s darkest days

The past decade-and-a-half had been a roller coaster ride for Mercedes-Benz and corporate parent Daimler-Benz AG, as the mid-1930s brought some of the most flamboyant and well-engineered cars that the automaker had ever built.

Yet even as it was rolling out the magnificent 540K, it was also producing a more mainstream car, the far more affordable 170, with a 1.7-liter 4-cylinder engine and fully independent suspension. 

But the rise of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party and the onset of World War II sees the German automobile industry nationalized. By 1944, nearly half of Daimler Benz’s 63,610 Daimler Benz employees are forced laborers, prisoners of war or concentration camp detainees churning out armaments such as trucks and aircraft engines and glamourous cars for Adolf Hitler’s use. As a result, Daimler-Benz factories in Mannheim, Untertürkheim, Sindelfingen, Stuttgart and Gaggenau prove prime targets for Allied bombers. 

By V-E Day, the company’s prospects seem unclear as its manufacturing base is levelled.

Yet within two weeks, 1,240 employees descend upon the Untertürkheim plant, clearing away debris and assessing what remains. Remarkably, many machines are intact, but the facility is put to use repairing American trucks, not building new vehicles. As Germany begins rebuilding with the help of the Marshall Plan, Daimler-Benz AG’s international reputation as a pre-eminent manufacturer is as tattered as its annihilated plants.

A return to form

As employees rebuild the company’s production facilities, American occupation authorities issue a new production permit to Daimler-Benz AG on Jan. 3, 1946. By 1947, all plants have resumed production. The following year brought currency reform, helping restore the German economy. 

The first vehicle to be produced was the 170V sedan wearing prewar styling. It was powered by a 38-horsepower 1.7-liter L-Head 4-cylinder engine with a 65-mph top speed.

A 170S sedan appeared in 1949 with more modern styling and a larger 1.8-liter 4 good for 52 horsepower, along with a 38-hp 170D. At best, these were continuations of the prewar 170. But it set the stage for what was to come, and proved enough to interest American automobile importer Max Hoffman, who began importing Mercedes-Benz vehicles to North America in 1949.

But the company was about to rebound from its darkest years. 

Frankfurt heralds its return

This week in 1951, in Frankfurt/Main, Mercedes-Benz returns to the luxury segment with two 6-cylinder models, their initial postwar cars, the result of work that begun 1948. 

The first of these, the Mercedes-Benz 220, brought the brand back with a 6-cylinder model that successfully reclaimed a top position that pre-dated the war. Largely based on the 170S, it sported similar styling, albeit a bit more rounded and with integrated headlamps.

Running gear and body were almost identical, aside from its 2.2-liter 6-cylinder engine that developed 80 hp. That said, it still came with archaic semaphore turn signals. In 1953, the sedan and convertible would be joined by a coupe variant.

The enthusiast press was captivated. “This family car is inconspicuous and discreet from the outside with an individual character concealed by its similarity to the familiar 170S,” wrote Switzerland’s “Automobil Revue” magazine.

“Its roadholding qualities seem to adapt to the driver’s requirements; it will give its all only to those who demand it. The vehicle will cruise with cruisers, speed off with racers, but will only reveal itself to connoisseurs. It delivers all this without demanding exertion or excessive concentration from the person at the wheel.”

A new postwar luxury leader

As good as the 220 was, it was the Mercedes-Benz 300 that represented the marque’s true rebirth as a luxury automaker.

Boasting a body design that was far more modern than its lesser siblings, it’s built to compete with the Bentley S1 and Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. But designers received one directive about it from top management: while the styling could be contemporary, the Mercedes-Benz radiator grille had to be retained. (One wonders how much better Packard would have fared had they followed a similar design dictate.)

In an era when modernity meant eliminating anything that had come before, it was an unusual move, one that continued for decades.

Using the same x-frame tube chassis the automaker had used since 1939, it employed a 120-inch wheelbase and a 3.0-liter overhead-cam 6-cylinder engine that generated 115 hp. Both floor and column-mounted transmission shifters were offered. Top speed was 100 mph, and reaching 60 mph took about 14 seconds. But unlike the 170 or 220, it used turn signals, not semaphores.

And while the body’s appearance was modern, the cabriolet still used functional landau bars — a delightfully traditional touch. Inside, the 300 offered 2+2 seating, folding rear seats, a signal-seeking radio, windshield washers, twin spare tires and a choice of either straight-grained or burled wood veneer trim. Fitted luggage was optional.

The new car restored Mercedes-Benz to its rightful place in the luxury car world, once more becoming the official vehicle of Germany’s Federal President and Federal Chancellor. In fact, the car became so identified with Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, the 300 earns the nickname the “Adenauer Mercedes.”

But it’s just as popular worldwide, with such owners as Frank Lloyd Wright, Gary Cooper, Yul Brenner, Maria Callas, the Shah of Iran and King Gustav of Sweden. 

Road & Track magazine’s writer was smitten with the new car as well, saying it was, “one of the finest road vehicles in the world today.”

The 1951 Mercedes-Benz 300 proved that the company’s pre-war luxury luster had not diminished, something that remains true to this day. And more importantly, its engine would find be modified for use in what is possibly the company’s most famous model: the 300SL Gullwing. But that’s a story for another day.

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• Source: https://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2023/04/the-rearview-mirror-mercedes-benzs-postwar-revival/