Marilyn Monroe and her Mercedes-Benz 170 S

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Marilyn Monroe and her Mercedes-Benz 170 S

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Created on September 10, 2025

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Bruno von Rotz

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - belonged to the actress Marilyn Monroe in 1956 according to notarized registration documents

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - weighing just over 1200 kg and almost 120 km/h fast

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - wheelbase 284.5 cm, length 445 cm

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - a large steering wheel to keep the 1.2-tonne vehicle under control

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - extensive instrumentation

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - long gearshift, but also easy to grasp for petite ladies' hands

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - upright steering wheel

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - "MM" monogram in the cockpit

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - Fuel tap and pedals

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - View into the footwell

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - 05659b19-9d36-4a13-956a-97507de7e159

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - Instructions in the glove compartment

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - the longitudinally mounted four-cylinder engine produced 52 hp at 4000 rpm

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - the side-valve four-cylinder with a displacement of 1760 cm3

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - everything ready in the trunk

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - matching luggage set and spare wheel in the luggage compartment

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - the cases with the historic license plates

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1949) - pre-series vehicle, paint finish of the hubcaps differs from series production

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1949) - pre-production model with later modified wheel cap paintwork

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1949) - stately saloon

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1949) - W 136, built from 1949 to 1952

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1949) - View into the trunk with matching luggage set available on request

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Mercedes-Benz 170S - Exhibition chassis of the 170S - two-stage rear suspension with double coil springs is clearly visible - Geneva Motor Show 1951

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S V (1953) - saloon of the 136 model series

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S V (1953) - successor model to the 170 S

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - Chassis, shown at the 36th Paris Motor Show

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1949) - the M 136 III carburetor engine for the 170 S

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1949) - Front suspension

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1949) - Rear swing axle

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - Production of the 170 S and 170 V models in Sindelfingen

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - Production side by side with the 170 V D

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - "Wedding" - body is put on the frame in Sindelfingen

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1952) - Production anniversary at the Sindelfingen plant

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Mercedes-Benz 170 D (1952) - Advertisement for the economical car

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S V (1953) - in the background, at the 38th International Motor Show in London in October 1953

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - at the 20th International Motor Show in Geneva in March 1950

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1952) - at the 22nd Geneva Motor Show, in the middle is the Type 220

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1949) - cover page of the 1949 brochure with drawing by Walter Gotschke

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1949) - Advertising illustration for the W 136 IV

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S V (1953) - title page of the brochure for the W136

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - advertising motif in a business newspaper, drawing by Walter Gotschke

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - Karl Kling at the ADAC 6-hour touring car race

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - suitable for winter

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1950) - shown as a touring sedan

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1952) - equipped for winter driving with 52 hp

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Mercedes-Benz 170 S (1951) - Crash test, carried out around 1960

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Marilyn Monroe at a PR event for Pan Am in 1950

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Portrait of Marilyn Monroe, for Photoplay in 1953

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Marriage of Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio in 1954

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famous photo of Marilyn Monroe as a PR stunt in the streets of New York during the shooting of the movie "The Seven Year Itch" in 1954

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Marilyn Monroe in the movie "The Seven Year Itch" in 1955

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Marilyn Monroe in the movie "Some like it hot" in 1959

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Mercedes-Benz 230 Sedan (1938) - offered as lot 172 at the Bonhams Amelia Island auction on March 5, 2020

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Summary

With the 170 S, Mercedes-Benz presented the first new design of the post-war period, even if, on closer inspection, it was more of a mixture and evolution of pre-war models. One of the more than 28,000 examples built between 1949 and 1952 was used by Marilyn Monroe in the mid-sixties. This car is presented in many pictures in this article.

This article contains the following chapters

Further development
A time-out in Greece?
Marylin in the 170 S
Completely restored

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Marilyn Monroe certainly had a soft spot for cars. There are many photos showing the actress in chic and elegant cars, such as Cadillac models or the Ford Thunderbird. But a Mercedes-Benz 170 S (Type W 136 IV) only really fits into the picture to a limited extent, as the post-war saloon was certainly not considered a style icon at the time. In May 1949, Mercedes-Benz presented the first post-war program at the Hanover Export Fair, and the 170 S was part of it. The Automobil Revue presented the new model in detail and also described the context: "The unspoken objective underlying the design of the new model can best be commented on by the neutral observer of the 170 S as follows: this vehicle was to combine the interior space, ride comfort and driving performance of the last 2.3 six-cylinder, the 153 W, i.e. a medium-sized car, with the economy of the small 170 V, and at the same time had to surpass both in terms of driving safety.To this end, the slightly enlarged engine in particular was brought up to more than a third higher maximum output without significantly increasing its displacement. The chassis was given a larger track width, particularly at the rear, with almost the same bodywork but improved suspension, while the bodywork was similar to that of the 153 W in terms of lines and interior, apart from a slight shortening and a few changes to details."

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