The most controversial cars made by Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz was the first company to put the automobile into production, but not all its models followed without controversy. The article catalogs 30 models across the brand’s history that sparked controversy for various reasons. It opens with Wilhelm Maybach’s 35hp, a lightweight yet powerful car with a notably low center of gravity that impressed contemporaries and led Paul Meyan to declare that 'We have entered the Mercedes era.' Maybach’s Simplex line followed, with 40hp and later a 65hp version introduced in 1909, and Daimler’s leadership change after Maybach’s departure. The article also notes the arrival of the Knight sleeve-valve engine in Mercedes-Knight models, which were quiet but difficult to build and maintain, contributing to Daimler’s abandonment of the concept in 1924. The 18/100 racer competed in the French Grand Prix in July 1914, illustrating the era’s tension between innovation and reliability.

Taken together, the piece surveys how Mercedes-Benz’s early engineering choices and leadership dynamics generated controversy that shaped the brand’s public image through the prewar era.