1953 Mercedes-Benz 220 Series

Max Hoffman was an Austrian expatriate who moved to New York in the 1930s. He built an enterprise around importing and distributing European cars in the United States. When World War II came to a close, he became the U.S. Mercedes-Benz distributor and would continue this task until Mercedes-Benz's ill-fated alliance with Studebaker-Packard in 1956.

The Mercedes-Benz 170 was the company's first postwar model. It was rushed into production using whatever prewar tooling could be found. Power was from a 1,697cc side-valve four-cylinder engine offering nearly 40 horsepower.

The Mercedes-Benz 220 Sedan was introduced in April of 1951 at the Frankfurt Auto Show. It served as the successor to the 170 S and brought with it many updates. One of the primary updates being a streamlining of the headlight fitment which was now faired into the fenders with chrome trip atop. The most significant change was the new 2.2-liter six-cylinder engine replacing the earlier four-cylinder unit used in the 170 S. Horsepower increased from 52 to 80.

Bodystyles offered on the 220 included a cabriolet, sedan, two-three seat Cabriolet A or full four-seat Cabriolet B. The cabriolet was produced from the beginning of the run to August of 1955 with a total of 2,360 examples built. Over 16,000 examples of the sedan were built, aided by Max Hoffman's promotion and distribution. 1,278 examples of the Cabriolet were built and carried a 70 percent premium over the saloon models. The Cabriolet was a two-passenger convertible distinguished from the Cabriolet B by having a single side window and rear jump seat compared to the four-passenger Cabriolet B. Other distinguishing features of the Cabriolet A included bound Wilton carpet and a leather-covered dash top in veneered wood.

by Daniel Vaughan | May 2018