Mercedes-Benz 300 S: Dreamlike synthesis between luxury and sport

• 70 years ago: With this vehicle, Mercedes-Benz once again achieved “one of the very highest ranks that international automotive engineering has to award”
• The 300 S was the star of the Paris Motor Show (4 to 14 October 1951)
• As coveted then as it is now – and highly exclusive
• Expert report by Mercedes-Benz Classic on the original exhibition vehicles from 1951

The Mercedes-Benz 300 S (W 188) was the star of the Mercedes-Benz stand at the Paris Motor Show from 4 to 14 October 1951. With this model, the Stuttgart brand surpassed the high benchmark it had set only in April of the same year with the prestigious Mercedes-Benz 300 (W 186) Saloon: the sales brochure described the Model 300 as a “car that makes dreams come true”. But at the autumn automotive event in Paris, the brand now presented two-door variants as luxuriously sporty vehicles that invited visitors to dream all the more.

The 300 S was available as a Cabriolet A, Coupé and Roadster. All three variants had a design that was the stuff of dreams: it combined elegance with sportiness – expressed for example by the elongated bonnet – a comparatively low roof line and a flowing rear end. The 300 S was produced by the special edition department at the Sindelfingen plant, and therefore handcrafted. The very best materials were used in the interior – fragrant leather, exotic wood, high-gloss metal. The result was not only a highly exquisite car, as each specimen was unique. Because as it had before the Second World War, the special edition department fulfilled practically any wish from its well-heeled clientele. So practically no two examples of the 300 S are identical. At the same time, this means that anyone driving a 300 S on the roads of this world is moving in the highest spheres of exclusive automobility.

The company was aware of the significance of the new model against the background of its own history of luxurious and sporty cars: “Daimler-Benz AG has always devoted particular attention and care to the models in the international luxury class. The Model 300 S was created for the circle of enthusiasts who have higher demands with respect to elegance, comfort, performance, speed and roadholding,” to quote the 1951 brochure on the 300 S.