Mercedes-Benz W118/W119 - the compact Benz that never was

[grober]

1960 Mercedes-Benz W118/W119 project - compact Benz that never was

 

[Darrell]

Looks like an NSU.

 

[zipdip]

Not one of their finest moments.

 

[grober]

Fascinating that in 1959 to 1964 Mercedes owned Auto Union till they sold it to VW. The firm was formed in 1932 with its four-ring badge standing for the constituent marques of Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer and in the early 1950s, it was mainly associated with small cars sold under the DKW name. The idea at the time was to make a small FWD car for the masses but German buyer tastes were changing so they dumped it. Interesting also that many years later Mercedes would turn to RENAULT with a similar idea for their W176 fwd A class but this time in collaborative venture rather than outright purchase.

 

[190]

Nice lines and lots of glass area, I like it. They were obviously not trying to design a miniature version of the larger MB models although from the rear it does look more like a Mercedes than the front.

 

[tron]

Clearly influenced by Lancias of the time by the clean lines. The simplicity of the style made it cheap to press panels. On the other hand, just look at how badly it would have fared against the best of its potential competitors, the Rover 2000.

 

[219]

While I doubt the final production car would’ve looked quite like that , particularly the front end , where some sort of grille and the traditional mascot would’ve been likely , it does bear quite strong resemblance to the W113 from the side and the rear ; and of course to the Audi 80 and 90 of the early 60’s , launched as ‘The car that’s half Volkswagen and half Mercedes’ , sharing its engine , as it did , with the W110 190 to begin with . Had Mercedes not sold Audi back to VW , it just might have been the replacement for the small W120 Ponton , which the W110 wasn’t really since it turned out to be a much bigger car .

 

[Screwdriver]

A few years later the W114/5 was launched with very similar lines and a much better looking front.

 

[219]

Looks like an NSU.

I'd have said Simca .

 

[219]

A few years later the W114/5 was launched with very similar lines and a much better looking front.

The prefacelift 114/115 cars still had opening quarter lights , odd that this car did away with them so early on .