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© Mercedes-Benz Gathering 140th Anniversary Toruń 2026
Wykonanie: Tomasz Niejadlik MEDIA
The history of the Mercedes-Benz brand dates back to the 1880s. It was then that two German inventors and engineers – the true fathers of modern motoring, Carl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler – independently developed vehicles powered by internal combustion engines, now regarded as the world’s first automobiles and motorcycles.
Carl Benz completed the construction of his first automobile in 1885. Initial tests took place that same year, although not yet under real road conditions. On 29 January 1886, Benz filed a patent for a “vehicle powered by a gasoline engine” with the Imperial Patent Office. Today, this date is widely recognised as the symbolic beginning of the automotive industry. As a result, 2026 marks the 140th anniversary of the creation of the first automobile and of the world’s oldest car manufacturer.
The Benz Patent-Motorwagen No. 1 made its first public road journey on 3 July 1886. The three-wheeled vehicle was powered by a 1-horsepower engine and reached a top speed of approximately 16 km/h.
Two years later, in 1885, the Daimler Reitwagen was built – a vehicle now considered the world’s first motorcycle. Interestingly, its frame was made entirely of wood, it featured no suspension, and its wheels were derived from carriage construction. Only a year later, Daimler and Maybach began work on a project aimed at creating “horse-drawn carriages powered by engines”. This marked the birth of the first four-wheeled automobile. In 1887, Daimler founded a factory in Cannstatt dedicated to the production of internal combustion engines and motor vehicles.
A breakthrough moment in the company’s history and in the development of the automotive industry as a whole came with the start of cooperation between Daimler and Emil Jellinek. The Austrian entrepreneur first became Daimler’s representative on the French Riviera, and later guaranteed the purchase of 36 vehicles, on the condition that Daimler would produce a car to his exact specifications. The aim was to secure victories in the emerging world of motorsport.
Daimler accepted the challenge, and in 1900 his factory produced a car featuring a 35-horsepower four-stroke engine, an innovative cooling system and a gearbox. In March 1901, Wilhelm Werner won the race in Nice driving this very car. The victory brought widespread recognition not only to the driver, but also to the German manufacturer, the Austrian entrepreneur and to the car itself, which Jellinek named after his daughter: Mercedes. Thus, the Mercedes name was born and adopted for future automobiles produced by Daimler.
In the following years, the companies founded by Daimler and Benz largely competed with one another. However, the economic situation following World War I and its consequences led to the merger of the two companies in 1926, resulting in the formation of Daimler-Benz AG and the start of automobile production under the name Mercedes-Benz.
As a result, 2026 marks a triple anniversary: