MERCEDES - BENZ
THE 1950s
The 220 W187
1951 – 1955
By Bernd S. Koehling
Copyright 2012 Bernd S. Koehling
Smashwords Edition
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CONTENT
The Cars
First of all I would like to thank you for having purchased this book and I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It is part of an e-book series that covers all cars produced by Daimler-Benz during the 1950s and 1960s.
The early 1950s were still a difficult time for Daimler-Benz, although it was a vastly different scenario to the late 1940s in Europe. The Marshall Plan (officially called the European Recovery Program or ERP) and in Germany the currency reform had a huge impact on the restructuring efforts and the general morale of the people. Although in the early fifties most of the physical manufacturing capability was still not yet rebuilt, the technological capability and skill of the worker and engineer was intact.
Launching in quick succession within a single year one up-market six-cylinder, a big luxury sedan and as one might call the 300S, the successor to the 540K, was quite an achievement just six years after the war. But those cars were needed to slowly start to develop the export business again, which was so few years after the war not an easy undertaking. But participating in European Motor Shows, although done with a certain amount of apprehension, was a first and vital step to re-establish the image of Daimler-Benz as one of the world's premier automotive companies again.
Hermann Ahrens, who had designed such masterpieces as the 540K, was in the early years after the war in charge of body styling at Daimler-Benz and as money was still tight, he was forced to live with a design that satisfied the more traditional thinking Mercedes customers, but was light-years away from more modern ponton designs, which were already available at other European car manufacturers such as Borgward or Rover. Although the 220 is seen today by many as just a warmed-up version of the 170S with a bigger, more modern engine, it was an important model for Daimler-Benz, as it secured the niche for executive cars below the luxurious 300 Adenauer and paved the way for the successful 220 ponton models.
March 2012
Bernd S. Koehling
MB 220 W187 Cabriolet A (1951 – 1955)
MB 220 W187 Cabriolet B (1951 – 1953)
MB 220 W187 OTP (1952 – 1953)
MB 220 W187 Coupe (1954 – 1955)
Integrated headlamps gave the 220 a more modern look