A smaller Mercedes-Benz
With the economy still reeling from the successive after shocks that followed the Wall Street crash, Hans Nibel, the manufacturer's Technical Director, conceived of the 170 as a compact light-weight car. Mercedes-Benz had by then become known as a manufacturer of large expensive cars that tended to grow larger and less affordable with each upgrade: the 170 of 1931 represented a conscious strategy of broadening the range down market, a pattern that would be repeated with the 190 in 1982 and A-Class in 1997.
The 170 in bare chassis form, as delivered to a coach builder or the body shop, weighed 750 kg (1,653 lb). With a conventional coupé or sedan/saloon body added, the car weighed between 1,050 kg (2,315 lb) and 1,200 kg (2,646 lb), with a laden weight of around 1,455 kg (3,208 lb). [1]
Chassis
The 170 was the first Mercedes with all-round independent suspension. There was no full width axle at the front, the wheels being suspended from two transverse leaf springs. At the back there were two half swing-axles. The suspension lay-out, which minimized unsprung mass and provided a high level of stability, was subsequently introduced across the entire Mercedes-Benz range, giving the cars a quality of comfort and safety that competitors using the then common combination of rigid axles and leaf springing could not match. [3]
The brakes, controlled via oil pressure, operated on all four wheels. An ignition steering lock was an anti-theft device which was incorporated as a standard feature.
Although both the innovative suspension and the compact chassis might have been seen as a gamble in 1931, their dependability and quality were reflected in the fact that they continued unchanged throughout the car's production run. [2]
Body options
At its 1931 launch the car was offered in bare chassis form (for customers wishing to purchase a car body from a coach builder) at a manufacturer's recommended price of 3,800 Marks, a four-door "Limousine" (sedan/saloon) for 4,400 Mark or as a Cabriolet for 5,575 Marks. [1] Subsequently, differently configured cabriolets, a sports roadster and, for military use, a Kübelwagen were added to what was, by 1934, an unusually a wide range of standard body types offered.
Initially large luggage would need to be fastened to a rack on the outside of the car at the back. In 1934 the bodies for the two mainstays of the range, the four-door sedan/saloon and the "Cabriolet C", received new more "streamlined" bodies and sloping tails which incorporated an internal luggage compartment. 1934 also saw for the first time a two-door "Limousine" (sedan/saloon), closely resembling the four-door equivalent. The more streamlined bodies of the 170 saloon in 1934 suggested the form of the next generation of 170, the Mercedes-Benz W136 introduced in 1936. Its 2,845 mm (112.0 in) wheelbase carried the new look off better than the shorter 2,600 mm (100 in) wheelbase of the W15 170. [2]
Commercial
In a period of economic crisis and shrinking incomes, the 170 and its van derivative enabled Daimler-Benz- AG, a company hitherto known only for big expensive cars, to survive. The modern independent suspension lay-out and hydraulic brakes provided a comfortable and safe driving experience. Between 1931 and 1936 the firm produced 13,775 of the cars. The highest annual production total of 4,438 was achieved in 1932, early in the car's career, suggesting the Mercedes had correctly understood the German auto-market within which at this time virtually the entire production was sold. 1932 was a particularly poor year, so that the 170's sales in that year represented more than 10% of Germany's passenger car sales. Thereafter the German auto-market bounced back strongly, as employment recovered, other manufacturers attracted customers with smaller lighter cars and the government, in 1933, abolished annual car tax, so that the 3,030 cars produced during 1935 which was the W15 170's last full year of production represented a market share of less than 2%. [2]
The 170 continued to be offered until 1936 when it was replaced by the four cylinder 170V. It also provided much of the chassis-architecture for more powerful subsequent models such as the 200 model of 1933 and its successors.
The Mercedes-Benz W136 was Mercedes-Benz's main line of inline-four cylinder motorcars from the mid-1930s into the 1950s. The model 170 V made its public debut as successor to the W15 Typ 170 in February 1936. Between 1936 and 1939 it was Mercedes' top selling model.
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