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The march of innovation

1954. Steady progress on the safety front. 1954 saw Daimler-Benz carry out the first crash tests. Crash testing is still the yardstick for safety research today.

1959. A new direction in vehicle design. With the 220 SE (W 111), a completely new dimension in vehicle manufacture began. The 220 SE was the first car with safety bodywork and crumple zone and a strong passenger cell. It was also fitted with a safety steering system which was less likely to penetrate the interior of the car in the event of an impact.

1961. More safety for Mercedes-Benz drivers. Although seat belts were still largely unknown at this time, the safety researchers at Daimler-Benz were increasingly convinced of the need for them. They had been optionally available since 1957. In 1961, the company started to fit the anchorage points for seat belts as standard.

1963. A new "Grand Mercedes". In 1963, Daimler-Benz presented a new model: the 600, a car of superlatives in every way and fitted out with a wide array of electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic and vacuum-operated systems. With its 250 hp 6.3 litre engine and a length of over 6 metres in the Pullmann version it was a car in class of its own. 2,600 were sold through to 1981.

1965. The new model series. The differing requirements of its customers led Mercedes-Benz to differentiate in design between its medium-sized and its larger-size cars. Daimler-Benz also turned its back once and for all on fashionable trends and from now on followed a course entirely its own. Tailfins and trapezium-shaped bodies disappeared from all except the small models. Ostentation of any kind was eliminated in favour of the kind of quiet, unfussy elegance which still typifies Mercedes cars today.

1965. Farewell to tailfins The new 300 SE had a light-alloy 6-cylinder engine and no tailfins. For the price of DM 21,500 it offered 170 horsepower and standard power steering.