The Mercedes-Benz 260 D, coded Mercedes-Benz W 138 according to internal works designation, was one of the first three

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-cal ...

d series produced passenger cars, together with 1933 Citroën Rosalie 11UD and the diesel version of the

Hanomag Rekord The Hanomag Rekord is a mid-size car produced by Hanomag in Hannover from 1933 until 1940. The car was Hanomag's first mid-size model and one of the first mass-produced cars available with a Diesel engine. Hanomag introduced the Rekord as the ''6/ ...

. The 260 D was named in reference to its engine's cubic capacity. Nearly 2,000 vehicles were assembled until 1940, after which the

Daimler-Benz The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufactu ...

group had to devote itself almost entirely to military manufacture.

Pilot series

First attempts by Daimler-Benz to assemble a 6-cylinder diesel engine in a Mercedes-Benz Mannheim chassis ultimately failed due to its enormous vibration. 1935 saw the successful installation of the smaller OM 138, 2545 cc

overhead valve An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located be ...

, 4-cylinder engine in a Mercedes-Benz 230 (W21) chassis. It employed the Bosch diesel

fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All com ...

system and produced at 3000 rpm. The car weighed approximately and could attain a top speed of . Branded as the 260 D, the car was introduced to the public at the 1936

Berlin Motor Show The Berlin Motor Show originally started in 1897 in the German capital Berlin as the home of the International Motor Show (''Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung'', IAA) and ran until 1939. From 1951 the IAA eventually became established in Fran ...

, although 13 units were already produced in 1935. The car proved to be a good seller. 170 pullman-landaulets based on the W21 chassis were built from 1936 to 1937, called the ''Nullserie'' and used only as taxis, with a three-speed plus overdrive transmission, without syncromesh on the first gear.

Second series

The second series or facelift was manufactured, from 1937 on, the regular production of the 260D based on the

Mercedes-Benz W143 The Mercedes-Benz Typ 230 n was introduced by Mercedes-Benz in 1937 as a successor to the Typ 230 (W 21). Oswald, Werner: Deutsche Autos 1920-1945, volume 2, p. 253 It was one of several models over the space of nearly eight decades to be s ...

, with a four-speed fully synchronized transmission. The chassis was based on contemporary Mercedes technology and had transverse

leaf spring A leaf spring is a simple form of spring commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles. Originally called a ''laminated'' or ''carriage spring'', and sometimes referred to as a semi-elliptical spring, elliptical spring, or cart spring, i ...

independent front suspension and

swing axle A swing axle is a simple type of independent (rear wheel) suspension designed and patented by Edmund Rumpler in 1903. This was a revolutionary invention in automotive suspension, allowing driven (powered) wheels to follow uneven road surfaces ...

s at the rear. The brakes were hydraulic. A range of body types were made including saloons,

landaulette A landaulet, also known as a landaulette, is a car body style where the rear passengers are covered by a convertible top. Often the driver is separated from the rear passengers by a division, as with a limousine. During the first half of the 2 ...

s and cabriolets. The car was noted at its time for its good fuel economy of , compared to for its gasoline powered counterpart. Production was stopped in 1939 as a result of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. After the war, the production of diesel engined cars was resumed with the Mercedes-Benz 170D in 1949. In total, 1.967 units of the 230 D were built since 1935. A surviving example of the car is displayed at the

Mercedes-Benz Museum The Mercedes-Benz Museum is an automobile museum in Stuttgart, Germany. It covers the history of the Mercedes-Benz brand and the brands associated with it. Stuttgart is home to the Mercedes-Benz brand and the international headquarters of the Me ...

in Stuttgart, Germany.

References

External links

{{Mercedes-Benz vehicles before ww2 260 D 1930s cars Cars introduced in 1936