The Mercedes 219, 220 Ponton

MERCEDES - BENZ

The Mercedes Executive Ponton

219, 220, S, SE W105, W180, W128

1954 – 1960

By Bernd S. Koehling

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2016 Bernd S. Koehling

All rights reserved

CONTENT

Foreword

The Cars

220a/219/220S,SE W180/W105/W128 (1954 – 1960)

The development of the executive ponton

The technical aspects

The 220a

The 219

The 220a has a successor: the 220S

Hydrak, DB's first in-house automatic

The first ponton Einspritzer: the 220SE

The introduction of the cabriolet

The coupe comes along

The racing history

The coachbuilders

The sales performance

Experiencing the 220S

Technical chapters

The chassis number explained

The data card explained

Buying a ponton car

The paint options

The interior colors

Technical specifications

Production history

About the author

One last thing

FOREWORD

First of all I would like to thank you for having purchased this book and I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It is part of an e-book series that covers all cars produced by Daimler-Benz during the 1950s and 1960s.

Management of Daimler-Benz knew in the early 1950s that cars like the 170S or 220 were not anymore state of the art in technical terms. But they also knew that their somewhat traditionally minded clientele would oppose any drastic design changes. The launch of the 180 ponton models in 1953 was carefully planned but also accompanied with a certain apprehension. How would their customers react to them? Luckily their response was very positive, so it was now time to introduce a new executive car, the 220a. Its predecessor, the 220 W187, although just three years old, had a modern engine, but was otherwise based on technology developed in the 1930s.

Without a new offering, Daimler-Benz would jeopardize its status as a premium automotive manufacturer. When the 220a was launched in 1954, it followed the basic concept of the 180 and shared many parts with it, but it was light-years ahead of the car it succeeded. As sales over the next couple of years confirmed, Daimler-Benz was firmly on a road to become a global player in the premium automotive market. What had started at the beginning of the 1950s with some warmed-up proposals of pre-war technology, had evolved less than ten years later into first class products that could easily compete with the best, other premium manufacturers had to offer.

Completely revised in early 2016, this e-book includes now a buyer’s guide and a look at the paint and interior options that were available for the ponton cars. Two other chapters explain in detail the chassis number and the data card. The latter one was naturally at the time of the launch in 1954 not yet very detailed. That is why we will also look at a 1959 and 1961 data card, although the latter one was only introduced well after the production end of the 220 ponton series. But at least it could have been valid for a smaller ponton, the 180c.

If you are interested, this guide is also available in a printed version as part of the book: MERCEDES-BENZ, The 1950s, Volume 2. It covers next to the six-cylinder ponton its four-cylinder sibling, the 190SL and the iconic 300SL. Further details can be found on my website.

February 2016

Bernd S. Koehling

MB 220a W180 I (1954 – 1956)

MB 219 W105 (1956 – 1959)

MB 220S W180 II (1956 – 1959)

MB 220 SE W128 (1958 – 1960)

The development of the executive ponton

Daimler-Benz management was keenly aware that introducing a ponton design in the early 1950s had certain risks. Consumer surveys did not exist yet, but one knew that the fairly traditional minded Mercedes clientele was opposed to any dramatic changes. It was the 220 W187 and 300 W186 they were used too. Anything more modern should be left to companies such as Ford and Opel, but certainly not Daimler-Benz. Consequently first studies of a successor to the 170S still showed very traditional lines. On the other hand management knew that those times were definitely history in a very short time, so they decided to test the waters first with a new four-cylinder. Thus the 180 ponton was born in 1953. But just to be on the safe side, the 170 was kept in production, should things not turn out as had been expected.

After the 180 had proven to be a success, it was time to test the waters again with a higher priced executive sedan. The W187 sales had suffered badly, after the 180 had been launched. Suddenly also the supposed to be conservative executives wanted something more modern. A new 220 needed to be developed. After Karl Wilfert, in those days still head of the research department, had managed to create with the 180 a successful bridge between traditional and modern design, it was easier with the 220. One only had to extend the front so that the larger six-cylinder power plant would fit.

The self-supporting body structure, which was welded firmly to the frame, was naturally maintained. Luckily the nay-sayers in the executive board, who were initially vehemently against a Mercedes, whose body did not rest anymore on a separate chassis, had been silenced by the success of the 180. In order to make the larger engine fit under the hood, the new car was given a wheelbase that was 170 mm (6.7 in) longer. Of that, 70 mm (2.8 in) were used to increase the rear compartment’s legroom and 100 mm (3.9 in) were needed at the front end for the M180 II power plant. All in all, the new car was 4,715 mm (15 ft 5 in) long, while the 180 measured 4,485 mm (14 ft 7 in). Compared with the previous 220 (W187), the new car did not only offer a more modern design, it also offered a 35 percent increased cabin. That meant that if one ordered the optional front bench seat, six (not too big) passengers could be accommodated with a certain degree of comfort.