In April 1951, six years after the end of the War, numerous new models, including some luxury variants, were presented at the first International Motor Show in Frankfurt. Alongside the 220, Daimler-Benz exhibited another new design which drew even more public interest: the 300, in its day the largest and fastest series-produced German car, soon became the car of choice among politicians and the business elite. Although never officially designated as such, it can be seen as a worthy successor to the “Super Mercedes” of the pre-war era. Among the most prominent personalities to use a 300 were Konrad Adenauer, Theodor Heuss, Finance Minister Ludwig Erhard and Kurt Schumacher – to name but a few.
The fact that the 300 became so closely associated with the first Federal Chancellor and is popularly known as the “Adenauer Mercedes” can be attributed to Adenauer’s insistence on only being driven in a 300 and on using his official car even on visits outside Germany. Adenauer used a total of six different 300 models during his time as Chancellor, which lasted until 1963, and afterwards up until his death in 1967. His first official car, dating from 1951, can today be admired in the “Haus der Geschichte” (House of History) in Bonn, while the car used during his retirement, a 300 d dating from 1959, came into the possession of Daimler-Benz in 1967 and has since been on display in the Mercedes-Benz Museum.
300, W 186, black. Diecast zinc with plastic parts. Scale 1:18. Genuine paintwork colours. First Adenauer car, with German flag. Accurate reproduction. High-quality printed interior. Mounted on printed base. By Norev for Mercedes-Benz.
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