Mercedes-Benz is celebrating two important anniversaries this year: Exactly 100 years ago, Daimler and Benz merged to form Daimler-Benz, which is now Mercedes-Benz. Gottlieb Daimler had already passed away by that time, and Carl Benz was serving only on the supervisory board. And 140 years ago, Carl Benz filed his patent for the first automobile, the legendary three-wheeled “Patent-Motorwagen.” Shortly thereafter, Gottlieb Daimler built a four-wheeled motor carriage.
Exactly 140 years after Benz filed his patent, on January 29, 2026, Mercedes-Benz sent three new S-Class sedans on a trip around the world. They are named Bertha, Carl, and Gottlieb, after Carl and Bertha Benz and Gottlieb Daimler.
Among other places, the three visited Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, New York, Toronto, San Francisco, Seoul, Beijing, Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore, Mumbai, Sydney, Nairobi, Cape Town, Casablanca, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Riga.
On October 17, after traveling more than 65,000 kilometers through 55 countries, the Globetrotters returned to the Mercedes-Benz Museum. The festival held in their honor marked the highlight of the “140 Years of Innovation” anniversary year. A convoy of 140 vehicles showcased the glorious history of Mercedes-Benz across various eras.
Among them were the Benz Patent-Motorwagen (replica), the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé—considered the world’s most valuable car—the futuristic C 111 concept car, the electric G-Class, the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupé, and the custom-built Mercedes-AMG CLE 646.
The world premiere of the Mercedes-AMG GT SUV provided fresh talking points in Bad Cannstatt. The first full-size SUV developed in-house in the history of the Affalterbach-based company is the second new model based on the AMG.EA high-performance architecture. At the same time, AMG used the celebration as an opportunity to look ahead to its upcoming 60th anniversary in 2027.
