It is only fitting that a car as innovative as the Mercedes-Benz 6.9 Sedan comes from a company formed by the very men who invented the automobile. In 1886, Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz, working independently of each other, successfully harnessed lightweight internal combustion engines to power vehicles that would travel on land. The two inventors worked just 60 miles apart. Daimler in Bad Cannstatt, a suburb of Stuttgart, and Benz in the city of Mannheim. Yet there is no record of the two men ever meeting. And their companies were not merged until the mid 1920's, 25 years after the death of Gottlieb Daimler and long after Karl Benz had retired from his company. Both men were engineers, and both were perfectionists. It was Gottlieb Daimler who took as his statement of principle a phrase that has remained the motto of Mercedes-Benz nearly a century later - "The best or nothing!" From the early grand prix winners of 1908 and 1914, to the great "S" class series of the 1920's, to the incomparable 500K and 540K speedsters of the 1930's, to the all-conquering racing cars of the 1930's and the mid-1950's, every generation of Mercedes-Benz cars has had its share of innovafions and historic firsts. The 6.9 Sedan is the heir to this tradition.

	1886	Granting of patent #37435 on January 29, 1886 to Karl Benz for the 'Patent Motorcar'. Public introduction July 3, 1886.
	1886	Construction of first Daimler motor vehicles.
	1894	First automobile race in the world was won by a car with a Daimler engine.
	1895	First U.S. automobile race, won by a Benz.
	1931	Complete independent wheel suspension.
	1938	Highest highway speed ever recorded: a Mercedes-Benz at 271.5 mph.
	1940	Experimental car 11. Prototype included safety features such as solid side protection, extremely rigid floor and three part steering column.
	1949	Patented safety door lock mechanism.
	1951	Daimler-Benz patents car body with rigid passenger compartment and crumple zones front and rear.
	1967	Collapsible steering column with impact-absorber under steering wheel.
	1972	Introduction of the 450 Series with extensive active and passive safety features.
	1976	Introduction of 6.9 performance sedan with innovative hydro-pneumatic suspension system.
	1. Karl Benz's 'Patent Motorcar' of 1886. 2. Supercharged, 8-cylinder, 1936 540K. 3. The classic 6.3 litre sedan.

1.  Burled walnut is used extensively on the dash and consoles of the 6.9. Controls and instruments have been designed and positioned in accordance with ergonomic principles.

	2.  An electrically operated sunroof with wind deflector is offered as an option without additional charge.
	3.  Sun visors are recessed and padded, providing passenger protection and a clean, uncluttered look. The passenger visor provides the added convenience of a vanity mirror.
	4.  The fully carpeted trunk offers 18.2 cubic feet of unobstructed luggage space. Spare tire and tool kit are located out of the way, beneath the floor.

The ferment of this competition has led to a constant striving at Mercedes-Benz to identify automotive challenges and surmount them through innovative engineering. The 6.9 is today's embodiment of this philosophy. It is a car that stands at the leading edge of automotive technology. A car that Mercedes-Benz had to make, simply as its expression of the state of its engineering art. As such, this astonishing car offers a number of technological developments far beyond those found on conventional automobiles. Some are described here.

The 6.9 litre engine. The hydro-pneumatic suspension. Safety engineering. Technical specifications.