1928 Mercedes Benz Model K
edited by David Barth, 8 April 2009.
Courtesy The Forney Museum of Transportation at 4303 Brighton Blvd., Denver,
Colorado. Photos were taken in April 2009.
This special built limousine was made for General Von Wagner who was badly crippled in World War I. Notice the wheelchair and the space to maneuver in order to exit out the side door. A ramp is designed to extend from just below the floor. Von Wagner was Germany's ambassador to the U.S. serving under propaganda minister Goebbels prior to the start of WW II. The car was then confiscated by the U.S.
Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG. Mercedes-Benz traces its origins to Karl Benz's creation of the first petrol-powered car, the Benz Patent Motorwagen, patented in January of 1886 and Gottlieb Daimler and engineer Wilhelm Maybach's conversion of a stagecoach by the addition of a petrol engine later that year. The Mercedes automobile was first marketed in 1901 by Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft. The first Mercedes-Benz brand name vehicles were produced in 1926, following the merger of Karl Benz's and Gottlieb Daimler's companies into the Daimler-Benz company. Mercedes-Benz has introduced many technological and safety innovations that later became common in other vehicles. Mercedes-Benz is one of the most well-known and established automotive brands in the world, and is also the world's oldest automotive brand still in existence today.
Mercedes-Benz used the numerical representation of motor displacement with the letters placed thereafter to denote the type of motor, fuel delivery (in gasoline engines), and body. The last number is always zero. "E" denoted the fuel injection system (Einspritzung) in the gasoline engines while "D" signified diesel engines.
Note: the letters described below are used prior to 1994 changes.
• "C" had been used for the two-door models on W114/W115, W123, and W124 as well as S-Class (W126 and W140) chassis. When combined with SL to create the SLC, the long-wheelbase, four-seat closed coupé version of SL.
• "K" was for the supercharged models in the 1920s and 1930s ("Kompressor") with exception of SSK, which meant "Kurz" (or short wheelbase).
• "L" meant "Leicht" (light): the first one to appear on SSKL in 1931. Beginning with the W108 in 1965, "L" means the long wheelbase version.
• "R" is for the "Rennen" version as in 300SLR from 1955 (and SLR from 2003).
• "S" originally meant "Sport" as in SSK from 1928 and 300SL from 1953. However, the "S" designates the flagship four-door model, starting in the late 1950s. Eventually, "SE" and "SEL" were added to describe the fuel-injected model or long-wheelbase model. Initially for the US market, "SD" and "SDL" were the diesel version of S-Class (W116 and W126).
• "T" was for the estate (or station wagon) using the word, "Touring", rather than German word, "Kombi". This appeared on S123 and S124.
Numerous technological innovations have been introduced on Mercedes-Benz automobiles throughout the many years of their production, including:
• The internal combustion engined automobile was developed independently by Benz and Daimler & Maybach in 1886.
• Daimler invented the honeycomb radiator of the type still used on all water-cooled vehicles today.
• Daimler invented the float carburetor which was used until replaced by fuel injection.
• The "drop chassis" – the car originally designated the "Mercedes" by Daimler was also the first car with a modern configuration, having the carriage lowered and set between the front and rear wheels, with a front engine and powered rear wheels. All earlier cars were "horseless carriages", which had high centers of gravity and various engine/drive-train configurations.
• The first passenger road car to have brakes on all four wheels (1924).
The Forney accession number is 49.
