1939 MERCEDES-BENZ 170 V

A gift to a member of the Ataman family for graduation, this automobile is the first item in our collection, around which the Museum was formed. It was found in Turkey in deplorable condition, with many accessories missing, and restored by the Museum to its current original condition.

The German Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler, was the builder of the first 4-wheel automobile, first truck, first motorcycle, first race car and the first motorboat. Carl Benz built the first 4-wheel automobile with a 177 cu.in. gasoline engine in 1885 and introduced it in 1886. The two jointly produced a racing car in 1899 and named it after Mercedes, the daughter of Emil Jelinek, who later became their most prominent dealer. Using this name as their brand since 1901, their company became today’s Daimler-Benz AG, since 1926. This 4-cylinder, 4-passenger 170 V was designed of developing  6-cylinder  170 (W 15), manufactured from 1931 to 1936, by personal order of Adolf Hitler in 1935, one  of the oldest establishment in Germany, renowned for its motor vehicles, to allow  a large population  to  attain a cheap and affordable automobile that also boasts luxury.

Manufactured with an elliptic pipe-section and X-shaped frameless chassis, the 170V’s front suspension system is completely independent and operates with a transverse-leaf spring between the two front wheels. In the rear, coil springs are fitted. The cars were used by the Gestapo organization on the German and French fronts during the Nazi administration of the 1930s and early 1940s. A wide variety of body styles was produced: 2 and 4-door Limousines (Sedan), 2 and 4-passenger Cabriolets with bodies made by companies like Krieg, Binz and Lueg, available in Kombi (Station Wagon) and Panel (Van) models. They were used in Germany and across Europe as police, fire fighting vehicles and ambulances.