(Our Auto Expert) – I spent some time in Germany, and while there, I thought, “what an excellent opportunity to look at some of Mercedes’s classic vehicles.”

One of the things that we all know is Mercedes-Benz was the company that is credited with creating the automobile. It was Benz that is classically creating the automobile. So I tracked down some of the more classic vehicles. I do not know much about the first Mercedes Benz and the classic cars they made. I had to bring in an expert named Michael, he was a wealth of knowledge, and our conversation went as follows:

Nik: Michael, you have spent your whole career fixing and curating some of the most wonderful vehicles from the past. This is the replica of the original Benz car, but it’s not a Mercedes Benz. It’s a Benz, isn’t it?

Micheal; Yes, it is a Benz, the Benz patent motorwagen. It is built in Manheim, the original one, and this one is a replica of the original. The original is in Munich in the German Museum.  Carl Benz gave that car in 1907 to the opening of the German Museum. 

Nik: But this, we can start up and take it for a ride, right? 

Micheal; We can do that 

Nik: We’re going to do that. 

Micheal had another car he wanted to show me;

Nik: Tell me what it is. 

Micheal: It’s an awesome car. This is a 540-compressor Mercedes, built-in 1938. It was built for a race from Berlin to Rome, but the race didn’t start. So, they sold that car to the Tire Company, Continental, Germany. And they use that car for high-speed tire tests. It’s an 8-cylinder straight 5.4 liter. 180 horsepower, and the top speed was 185 km.

Nik: These have been some incredible cars that Mercedes Benz has in their collection. Michael, thank you. Now let’s go for another drive.