Mercedes in Padua: 70 years of SL and other anniversaries for innovation October 22, 2022 1

2022 is an important year for Mercedes-Benz Italia, which is celebrating a number of anniversaries in Padua, home of Auto and Moto d’Epoca, starting with the 70th anniversary of the Mercedes SL.

It was 1952 and Mercedes 300 SL it made its official debut, turning two years later into a sports car that moved from racing to road thanks to Maximilian E. Hoffmann, a US importer who offered the Stuttgart house to buy 1,000 if the Germans decided to offer the car into production. version.

Stuttgart was convinced, and with the car began a history of movie appearances that helped make it a cult classic, transforming over time with different leanings, from the 1954 Seagull Wings to the 1967 250SL (W113), continuing the Sixties Pagoda, 500 SL from 1986 (in production for 18 years) and today with the Mercedes-AMG SL.

Today the “made in Affalterbach” SL is produced only by AMG, which is a clear cut from the past to confirm the exclusivity of this model, which goes even higher in the luxury concept, from the four-cylinder SL 43 to the V8 versions:

As expected, 2022 is a year with multiple anniversaries. In 1972, the S-class was launched.not a new concept considering the luxury sedan was introduced in the home of the Oberklasse, but it was the first time it officially took on the S-Class name and hasn’t left it since.

Then we move on to December 8, 1982, the date of the presentation of the Mercedes-Benz 190 and 190 E, baby benz (W 201), which was another successful intuitive solution as it gave rise to the C-Class.

In 1992 300 CE-24 Convertible which brought the innovation of electro-hydraulic hood and pyrotechnic removal of the rear seat head restraints turn them into safety arcs in case of an accident. It was the first, then all convertibles introduced this system.

1997 was then a year full of innovations: TELE ASSISTANCE it was an emergency call that Mercedes drivers were already making 25 years ago: it already had many e-call features now mandatory, including automatic emergency call in the event of an accident.

He was also born 25 years ago Class A in March 1997. It was a controversial car because it failed the moose test in its first months of life, but that didn’t stop Mercedes, which staged a giant recall operation, specifically setting up a center with three production lines disassemble and solve the problem. Pinerolo it was the chosen place and it worked just like the German factories, processing 50 cars a day thanks to 150 people, 3000 cars in total.

Here, the codes of the assembled parts were scanned to always know which ESP is installed on which chassis, and there was painstaking quality control that allowed the A-Class to go from a model unsuitable for road use to an all-terrain one. Italian success.

Also FURNITURE born in 1997: few people know that the warranty program includes 360° support in case of need for assistance, coverage of spare parts costs, 24/7 rescue, mobility in case of repairs, living expenses and transport costs even by train or plane.

The program is now offered as a standard for all customers and is renewed free of charge after each official support service for a maximum of 30 years.

Finally, 1997 also marks the debut of direct fuel injection technology. Common rail with Mercedes C 220 CDI (and Alfa Romeo 156 JTD): 125 hp on a 2.2-liter diesel engine, consuming an average of 6.1 liters per 100 km. This is one of many stories about Italian-German interaction: created in Bari in a research and development center owned by the Fiat (Elasis) group, the Common Rail immediately attracted the attention of Mercedes, which, together with its partner Bosch, turned the idea into something that could be industrialized at the level of mass production.

Today, the heir to this technology is the 2022 W206 with 217 hp. and a consumption of 4 liters per 100 kilometers, which is twice as much compared to the 1997 W202, which could count on 125 hp. and consumption of just over 6 liters.

It should also be noted that on the official website, by clicking on the “service / vehicle homologation” menu, they are available (after logging in with a Mercedes Me account), services that allow owners of historic vehicles to obtain a range of documents useful for registration or maintenance. The Germans actually digitized end production maps with assembled components and options for all cars produced from the late fifties to the late seventies. In addition, documents for registration in Italy of cars arriving from abroad are also provided, but the latter require a couple of months of waiting from the factory, since the process is still manual.

Finally, work is underway to restore all literature prior to 1995, when an electronic database was introduced, with the digitization of user manuals and repair manuals.