The original car-maker, the creator of the car as we know it and still one of the most well-established car makers world-wide, Mercedes-Benz are perhaps by that merit alone the most successful car manufacturer in history. With a history of constant innovation across all it’s vehicles and a reputation for incredible prestige, Mercedes has pioneered many of the features and technologies that have shaped the modern car.
As one of Australia’s most successful names in high-end motoring, Spares Box is extremely proud to carry a huge range of parts to suit some of the most successful and obscure Mercedes Benz vehicles in history, with outstanding value and the kind of quality that is truly worthy of a brand with Mercedes’ name.
Automotive Genesis
As a put-put-put sound rang out from a German workshop in 1873, Karl Benz and his wife Bertha sat in astonishment as they watched and listened to their creation – the world’s first petrol-powered internal combustion engine. Just over 10 years later, this wonder of technological innovation was now the power plant for the world’s first true motorised vehicle, the Benz Patent Motorwagen.
The second iteration of his creation, the Benz Velo, was the world’s first commercially available standardised car, Benz had started a revolution, pioneering an age of car makers and vehicle manufacturing that now sees over 90 million automobiles of all shapes and sizes manufactured worldwide.
Pure Innovation
Across the course of the next few decades, Mercedes Benz led the charge in making vehicles more and more accessible to the general public, although of course it never truly took off until Henry Ford came along with his production line. This didn’t stop Benz, in conjunction with his partners Daimler and Maybach, from pioneering some of the features we see in all vehicles today. The Mercedes 260D was the world’s first diesel passenger car, while across the 20s and 30s Mercedes also released the first cars to feature carburettors, honeycomb radiators and brakes on all four wheels.
All the while, Mercedes used this innovation to produce one the original lines of true performance cars, built with raw power and capable of speeds unheard of at the time. These cars were refined down to the luxurious touring models that we now associate Mercedes-Benz with, combining endless passenger comfort with the kind of innovation that led to industry-leading performance.
Indeed, Mercedes can also lay claim to producing the first car with the “Drop-chassis” configuration that is the essential DNA of every true car. This marked the shift away from the “horseless carriages” of the early 20th century and into the modern car we know today. Put simply, the story of Mercedes-Benz isn’t so much a history of the development of a brand, but more a history of the development of the car itself.
Building a Legend
Across the course of the century, Mercedes built on it’s prestige by manufacturing, pioneering and developing some of the most advanced and successful cars of the 20th century. Their passion for performance saw them dominate Formula 1 in the 50’s (aided by the legendary driving of Juan Manuel Fangio) and unveil the world’s first true supercar in the 300SL Gullwing. Mercedes revolutionised driving safety with the introduction of the world’s first safety cell along with front and rear crumple zones on a vehicle, and also began a 50-year long trend of luxurious driving with the 1965 introduction of the S-Class.
The late 20th century saw even more innovation by Mercedes, and throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s the world saw Mercedes further evolve its product line along with it’s reputation for breaking the barriers. They broadened their horizons throughout these decades, introducing the first G-Class off-road SUV, along with the W123 station wagon. Perhaps Mercedes’ most important release however was the introduction of the 190E, their first ‘compact executive’ car which, along with the 3 series of BMW, became wildly successful in the high-flying European market of the time. This would eventually evolve into the C-Class. AMG would also arise around this time, using the legends of people like Stirling Moss and Fangio as inspiration to create cars that defied the expectations of every day passenger vehicles.
Our Range
Mercedes’ range of cars is now as diverse as ever. Their classic C-Class, E-Class and S-Class ranges continue to excel in their respective markets, while the compact A-Class has also seen a revival. With such an incredibly wide range of vehicles that stretches from the aforementioned to 4x4s, SUVs and even commercial vans, you can be sure that we have a line of products to suit your particular Mercedes perfectly. Our entire range of Mercedes parts is derived from the world’s best brands to ensure the quality and reliability that Mercedes themselves would be happy to see put in their car.
