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90 years of Mercedes 260 D: How the diesel began in passenger cars—and became the taxi's propulsion.
Thinking of Mercedes-Benz and 140 years of automotive history, terms like Carl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler, Silver Arrow, gull-wing, S-Class or Pagoda come to mind. Yet one of the most far-reaching inventions in automotive history is the diesel engine, which Daimler brought to fruition just before World War II together with supplier Robert Bosch. Up until the 1930s, the highly compressed diesel engines with glow-ignition had been used only in commercial vehicles, locomotives and ships. With the diesel-powered 260, not only for Daimler did a new era in automotive manufacturing begin. To this day, compression-ignition engines remain central, especially in passenger cars. The reasons to buy a car with a diesel engine are the same as 90 years ago — low fuel costs and a long driving range.
First "Nail Test"
Since the early 1930s, Daimler's development department had been working flat out on the serial use of a diesel engine in a passenger car. But it wasn't so easy to transplant a rough diesel engine from the truck into a sedan. The first attempts occurred in 1933, when a 59 kW / 80 hp heavy-truck six-cylinder was installed in various test vehicles of the Mannheim type. But vibrations and strong oscillations of the inline engine caused frame breaks at higher speeds. To keep development costs in check, the strong structural resemblance to truck engines should nevertheless be pushed further. To minimize the disturbing vibrations, two combustion chambers were simply cut off from the six-cylinder diesel. That did cost power, but it made the engine as a whole noticeably smoother-running. The test runs were successful.
Test in taxi operation
The now 2.6-liter inline-four diesel engines of the OM 138 (oil engine) were installed in a large-scale test in 170 Pullman-Landaulets of type 230. To test everyday usability in road operation, motorized cab drivers in taxi service were to demonstrate what the new drive concept had for strengths and weaknesses. The taxi drivers were more than satisfied, and thus the pre-series production of the 260 D began at the end of 1935 / beginning of 1936. Those who first drove the 260 D were exceedingly impressed by its performance and range. With an average consumption of 9.5 liters of diesel per 100 kilometers, a tankful would cover 400 kilometers. No petrol car could match that. In addition to the long Pullman version, from September 1936 the Mercedes 260 D was also available with a short wheelbase as a four- or five-seat sedan and Cabriolet. An early model update in 1937 brought a series of technical and cosmetic improvements. Particularly the wider wheelbase and the increase of the fuel tank from 38 to 50 liters were positively received by customers. With a consumption of now nine liters of diesel per 100 kilometers, compared with the 13 to 14 liters of the petrol version Mercedes 200, the range increased to up to 500 kilometers. The 260 D became the kilometer-eater of its time. The outbreak of the Second World War ended serial production after 1,967 vehicles in 1940. Its revival was celebrated in passenger cars after the war with the Mercedes 170 D of the W 136 series.
The diesel as a long-distance runner
By today’s standards the 33 kW / 45 hp rear-wheel-drive limousine already seemed rather undynamic due to its weight of more than two tons. That looked very different in the 1930s and 1940s. The 2.6-liter four-cylinder powered the Pullman limousine to speeds of up to 90 km/h. While the first models with three gears and an additional Autobahn gear trudged around, there was already a fully synchronized four-speed transmission after only a few months of production. Many of the Mercedes 260 D ran for decades as taxis – especially in Berlin, where taxi fleets were particularly old. Maximum ranges of over 500,000 or even a million kilometers were not uncommon.
The 260 models dominated the taxi landscape in Berlin with their solid technology well into the 50s. Slow and steady is the rule when piloting a 260 Diesel. Between 50 and 80 km/h the original diesels feel especially at home. The windshield is slightly folded down, letting a fresh breeze into the cockpit. A handful of chromed switches and controls inevitably convey the charm of the 1930s. The Veigel tachometer ends only at 120 km/h – unattainable dream speeds for the driver of a 260 D. The clock, one of the three analog displays, seems to have stopped just after a little past eleven. Yet the rest of the 75-year-old Mercedes 260 Diesel works like on the first day. It starts electrically from the cockpit. The opening of the starter crank at the base of the mighty grille is adorned with a chrome plate.
Enge für den Chauffeur, Luxus für den Fahrgast
For the passengers in the rear, the 260-D models also proved splendid. The space in the long Pullman version is impressive even by today’s standards. Comfortable sofa seats let one endure a walking pace up a steep incline. A pane separates the rear occupants from the dark steering wheel. While the driver and a possible co-driver had to lie in cramped conditions on sweaty artificial leather seats, the soft flock velour in the second row is clearly more comfortable. In the blue-upholstered rear, two emergency seats can be folded out from the floor if needed. All four wheels not only have hydraulically operated drum brakes, but are individually suspended; at the rear on a swing axle with leaf springs, at the front on two transverse leaf springs.
The passengers’ luggage mostly found space in the equally luxurious as well as indestructible large trunk behind the passenger compartment. The Baisch manufactory from Bad Cannstatt was one of the best-known German luggage firms. Even after seven decades the loading modules are still in top condition, patina included. Because leather suitcases were no longer in vogue for cars from the 1950s onward, Baisch finally had to close its doors. Diesel technology fared considerably better. Even if interest in Europe due to the ongoing electric trend is noticeably waning, cars with diesel engines are not to be missing from the roads.
Diesel in Europe on the decline, in the USA and Asia still in demand
By now, customers in the United States or in some Asian countries such as Japan or South Korea are increasingly warming to diesel technology. In Europe, it looks different; vehicles from the mid-range class still had a diesel share of more than 50 percent and SUVs over 70 percent ten years ago, but today it is often less than 20 percent. In 1978, the Mercedes 300 SD of the W 116 series was, by the way, the world’s first series-production passenger car with a turbodiesel. Initially offered only in the USA, the Diesel S-Class delivered a modest 85 kW / 115 PS; however, in the standard cycle it consumed only 10.6 liters of diesel per 100 kilometers. Around 40 percent more power than a turbocharged diesel and 30 percent less consumption than a petrol engine.
Für uns am Steuer: Stefan Grundhoff; press-inform
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