FOR SOFT ADVERTORIAL: September 5, 2004 Vintage Mercedes light up Deutsche Bank lobby
A special treat is in store for classic car buffs, when several vintage Mercedes-Benz models go on display in the lobby of the Deutsche Bank Building, Jl. Imam Bonjol 80.
The unprecedented exhibition commences on Sept. 5 (today) and will run through Sept. 13, and is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The antique cars on view are among those from the Mercedes- Benz Museum collection in Stuttgart, Germany. All of the cars are over 50 years old, with one model over one century old.
The feature exhibit includes the 118-year-old Benz Patent Motor Car, the 93-year-old Mercedes 37/70 hp Simplex, the 91-year-old Benz 8/20 hp convertible touring car, the 80-year-old Mercedes 28/95 hp, the 63-year-old Mercedes-Benz 320 Streamliner and the 52-year-old Mercedes-Benz 300.
The vehicles are unique models, each with an historical significance in the German car manufacturing industry.
For instance, the Benz Patent Motor Car, manufactured in 1886, was tipped as the world's first automobile with a holistic design, in which body and engine were fitted in a revolutionary organic composition.
"Tipping the scale at just under 300 kg, the engine alone accounted for more than 100 kg, making the car an extremely light filigree vehicle," said Wolfgang Rolli, Collection and Exhibitions senior manager of the Mercedes-Benz Museum.
The car was propelled by a water-cooled, single-cylinder four- stroke engine with a large flywheel installed horizontally in the rear of the car.
The Benz 8/20 hp convertible touring car was produced in 1913 by Benz & Chie for the middle class in response to growing competition from the U.S.
The largest and fastest German-made car in the 1950s was the Mercedes-Benz 300, produced in 1952. The car was the star of the Frankfurt International Motor Show (IAA) that same year.
"This car quickly became a symbol of the German economic miracle," Rolli said, and its comfortable and luxurious interior made it the ideal executive car for official functions.
German Chancellor Konrad Adenaur insisted on being chauffeured in the Mercedes-Benz 300 for many years, and the model became popularly known as the "Adenaur Mercedes".
Mercedes has a long and unique history: Its name dates back to over 100 years ago when an Austrian businessman, Emil Jellinek, placed an order for vehicles from Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) and agreed that his daughter's name, Mercedes, be used as the automotive brand name.