200/20/40 D - The Multibenz
03/20/2024
Mercedes drivers have always liked to play with the model lettering on their cars. Whether it's the humorous con man who disguises his 500 E as a 200 D in order to have fun with confident highway tailgaters; or the frugal dreamer who sticks a large AMG logo on his 230 E because common sense won out when buying a car.
This Daimler factory photo from 1973 shows a completely new variation on the lettering rochade. If the old school method was applied in writing, the result would be a mighty 660 D. Or is it rather an early test vehicle with cylinder deactivation? At partial load, the 240 D simply becomes a 220 D and finally a 200 D at constant speed.
But the matter is probably much simpler. Because the three diesel types of the W 115 series differed externally only by the number at the rear, all three possible variants were simply stuck on top of each other to save celluloid.
