70 Years of Mercedes-Benz 300 S
An unusual vehicle for the time made its debut at the 1951 Paris Motor Show. Many European countries were still rebuilding after the war. And yet a manufacturer from Germany, of all places, presented a sporty and luxurious Coupé a Cabriolet A and a Roadster. These were the two-door variants of the Mercedes-Benz 300 sedan, which in Germany later received the nickname “Adenauer”. For the offshoots with a 15-centimeter shorter wheelbase, the Swabian manufacturer revived the abbreviation “S” for Super from the pre-war period. Visually, the three variants were also still very much in line with the pre-war design with free-standing fenders and a steep radiator grille. To accomodate the desired sportiness, the Mercedes designers lowered the roof line significantly and integrated the trunk lid smoothly into the curves of the rear end.
Luxury automobile manufactured by hand
While it is now common practice for all body variants of a model series to be produced as quickly as possible in an assembly line process, this was still quite different for the 300 S. The production of each individual vehicle was carried out by specially trained craftsmen. Each individual vehicle was assembled by hand by specially trained employees in the special car manufacturing facility (Sonderwagenbau) in Sindelfingen. This handcrafted production process naturally took much longer, but also made it possible to incorporate special requests. As a result, virtually no two cars are exactly alike. This luxury, which was almost unbelievable for the time after the terrible war, was summed up by Mercedes-Benz in the sales brochures: “Daimler-Benz AG has always paid special attention and care to the vehicles of the international special class. The type 300 S was created for the circle of enthusiasts of these vehicles, who have increased demands on elegance, comfort, race, speed and roadholding.”
Swabian rarity
On the Mercedes-Benz stand in Paris in 1951 was only a 300 S Cabriolet A. This is what the Swabian manufacturer traditionally calls a two-door, two-seater Cabriolet. Outside the exhibition grounds, Mercedes-Benz used a 300 S Coupé as a representative demonstration car for important customers and serious prospective buyers. The Roadster with a lower windshield and even tighter fabric top was added later the same year. The decision to produce the 300 sedan and 300 S had already been formulated by General Manager Dr. Wilhelm Haspel in December 1947 at a meeting of the Supervisory Board of Daimler-Benz AG with the words: “we need a vehicle that will once again gild the name Mercedes-Benz”. Even compared to the prestigious sedan, which was also loved by German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, the two-door cars remained extremely rare. By August 1955, only 560 units had been built (216 Coupés, 203 Cabriolet A and 141 Roadsters).
From 1955 to 1958 as the 300 Sc
With the same body shape, a further 200 vehicles (98 Coupés, 49 Cabriolet A and 53 Roadsters) were built by April 1958 with a new rear axle and “Einspritzmotor” (fuel injection engine). This word adorned the rear bumper of the model, now renamed 300 Sc, as a reference. Gasoline direct injection replaced the previous three carburetors and increased the performance from 150 to 175 hp. Power transmission to the rear wheels was provided in each case by a four-speed manual gearbox. The rarity of the 300 S and 300 Sc was due to the high sales price. From today’s perspective, 34,500 DM may seem low. In 1951, it was possible to buy nine Volkswagen Beetles for it, with plenty of gas money left over to move this fleet. Compared to the 300 sedan, the selling price was 10,000 DM higher, and compared to the 300 SL, 4,000 DM higher. Manual work was and is expensive. On the other hand, the 300 S and Sc came with extensive standard equipment including heating, turn signals, fog lights and a set of luggage.
Images: Mercedes-Benz
