1997

  • 11 - 20 January 1997
  • The Mercedes-Benz CLK, a new series of sporty, elegant coupé models (208 series), is unveiled to the public at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan/USA.
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  • 18 - 26 January 1997
  • The Mercedes-Benz Actros truck is named "International Truck of the Year 1997" at the Brussels International Commercial Vehicle Show. The title is awarded by an international jury of trade journalists. The Vito 114, a 105 kW / 143 hp variant of the van, celebrates its premiere. It is mainly of interest for rapid passenger transport and for courier and rescue services.
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  • 29 January 1997
  • Mercedes-Benz presents the TELEAID system developed in cooperation with debis Telematic Services. This intelligent emergency call system automatically sends out an emergency call after an accident has taken place.
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  • 29 January 1997
  • Barely two years after foundation, EvoBus GmbH initiates the production link between the Mannheim and Ulm/Neu-Ulm plants. Body-in-white and dip priming for all Mercedes-Benz rural buses and touring coaches, Setra combined-service buses and two-axle touring coaches will now take place in Mannheim, with the final assembly and paint finish taking placein Ulm/Neu-Ulm.
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  • 6 - 16 February 1997
  • The E-Class models E 280 and E 320 are unveiled at the AutoRAI show in Amsterdam. They are the first vehicles to make use of the V6 engines from the all-new M 112 series featuring three-valve technology and dual ignition. In addition to the variants with conventional rear-wheel drive, both models also make their debuts in the all-wheel drive 4MATIC version, co-developed with Steyr-Daimler-Puch and, like the G-Class, produced in Graz, Austria. In contrast to the first-generation 4MATIC system, the new models feature a permanent all-wheel drive that is also electronically controlled.
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  • 6 - 16 March 1997
  • The new Mercedes-Benz A-Class celebrates its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show. The 168-series compact all-round saloon is packed with more than 20 technical innovations benefiting passive safety and the efficient use of space in particular. At the show, Mercedes-Benz Board of Management member Prof. Jürgen Hubbert accepts the coveted award "Cabrio of the Year" bestowed on the Mercedes-Benz SLK by an international jury.
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  • 9 March 1997
  • The Scot David Coulthard wins the first race of the Formula One season, the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, in the new silver-painted McLaren MP4-12 and brings the McLaren-Mercedes team its maiden victory. His Finnish teammate Mika Häkkinen takes third place. With their silver paintwork, the two formula racing cars follow in the tyre marks of the legendary Silver Arrows.
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  • 24 March 1997
  • Mercedes-Benz presents a new type of mobility warranty under the name "mobilo". This package includes a free-of-charge breakdown service with 24-hour call-out and ensures mobility even while repairs are carried out, by covering the costs of parts procurement, accommodation and any onward journey by rail or air. The "mobilo" package is available for every new passenger car sold and delivered by Mercedes-Benz from 1 April and valid for four years in 23 European countries.
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  • 1 April 1997
  • As part of a new organisational structure of the Daimler-Benz Group Mercedes-Benz AG is merged into Daimler-Benz AG. This leads to the creation of the Passenger Car and Commercial Vehicle Divisions, the Aerospace Division (Daimler-Benz Aerospace), the Services Division (debis) and the Directly Managed Businesses Division. The Services Division, represented by debis, includes the following business units: Financial Services/Insurance, IT Services, Telecommunications and Media Services, Trading and Real Estate Management. Directly Managed Businesses includes Rail Systems represented by Adtranz (ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation GmbH), Diesel Engines (MTU) and Microelectronics (TEMIC).
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  • 9 April 1997
  • The new V-engine plant in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt is officially opened in the presence of Baden-Württemberg’s Minister President Erwin Teufel. The "factory of the future", which is to achieve annual production of over 300,000 V6 and V8 engines from the M 112 and M 113 series using state-of-the-art manufacturing methods, places great emphasis on environment-friendly engineering. In keeping with this principle, Europe’s biggest photovoltaic solar plant is mounted on the roof of the factory and converts sunlight directly into electricity.
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  • 11 April 1997
  • Mercedes-Benz presents the new high-performance sports car, the CLK-GTR. The road-going coupé is the homologation version of the racing sports car designed for the FIA GT Championship, and only 25 units are built. It features a mid-positioned 6.9-litre V12 engine, which generates 412 kW / 560 hp and a maximum torque of 720 Nm. The bodywork of the CLK-GTR is made from a carbon-fibre composite material.
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  • 11 May 1997
  • In the second run of the FIA GT Championship in Silverstone, UK, Bernd Schneider and Alexander Wurz post their first win of the season in the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR racing sports car.
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  • 21 May 1997
  • The new M-Class (163 series) off-road sports utility vehicle makes its debut in Tuscaloosa, Alabama/USA. At the same time, the new American plant is officially opened in the presence of 5,000 guests after two years of construction work.
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  • 26 May 1997
  • In Stuttgart, Daimler-Benz presents the NEBUS, the first regular service bus with fuel cell drive. Six years after the launch of the fuel cell project, work towards putting the system into production is starting to bear fruit. The new technology was developed in partnership with the Canadian research company Ballard Power Systems, Inc. in which Daimler-Benz acquired a 25 % holding in April 1997.
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  • 1 June 1997
  • The local transit company Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG starts regular operation of 17 Mercedes-Benz O 405 GNDE low-floor articulated buses equipped with a hybrid drive. The 220 kW / 300 hp diesel engine generates the electric energy to power the four wheel hub motors on the central and rear axle.
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  • 1 - 6 June 1997
  • EvoBus presents a new generation of urban buses at the UITP conference in Stuttgart – the Mercedes-Benz Citaro, available as both a rigid and articulated bus. On 27 November, Hamburger Hochbahn AG takes delivery of the first eleven of these buses from series production. Also on show is the O 345, an urban bus built by Mercedes-Benz Türk, which is also offered in the form of the O 345 G articulated bus and is specially designed for use in Turkey and East European markets.
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  • 6 June 1997
  • The new CLK Coupé, which has enjoyed extremely strong demand since it went on sale on 3 March, is now available for test drives at Mercedes-Benz outlets and dealers. At the same time, the stylistically and technically upgraded 202 series C-Class saloons and estate variants are launched.
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  • 14/15 June 1997
  • At the truck racing weekend on Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet in southern France, Markus Oestreich posts the season's first win for Mercedes-Benz in the first run of the Super Race Trucks. The 1838 S is fitted with the 884 kW / 1,200 hp OM 501 LA innovation engine since the start of the season. In the Race Trucks category Heinz-Werner Lenz in a Mercedes-Benz 1838 S wins both qualifying rounds and both legs of the race to take the lead in the general Race Truck classification.
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  • 29 June 1997
  • A pre-series CLK 55 AMG makes its first appearance as the new Formula One Safety Car at the French Grand Prix in Magny-Cours. It succeeds the C 36 AMG, used since June 1996. The Medical Car remains the E 60 AMG Estate, in use since the San Marino Grand Prix on 27 April.
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  • 3 July 1997
  • MB ATC GmbH, the Mercedes-Benz End-of-life Vehicle and Parts Centre in Stuttgart-Obertürkheim, officially commences operations. Daimler-Benz therefore becomes the first German automobile manufacturer to make an active contribution to the disposal of end-of-life vehicles through the creation of its own recycling centre.
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  • 11 - 21 September 1997
  • The A-Class Classic, Elegance and Avantgarde design and equipment lines are on display for the first time at the International Frankfurt Motor Show. In the C-Class (202 series), the C 220 Turbodiesel is presented alongside the new top-of-the-range V8 C 43 AMG. The turbodiesel is fitted with the 2.2-litre four-cylinder OM 611 unit with innovative common-rail direct injection. E-Class (210 series) models presented include the V6 E 240, V8 E 430 and E 55 AMG. All five new models are available in saloon and estate variants, although the E 55 AMG Estate is not introduced until spring 1998. The E 430, C 43 AMG and E 55 AMG are the first models to be equipped with the V8 engines from the M 113 series, which feature three-valve technology and dual ignition. The V-Class (638 series) is also boosted by the new top-of-the-range 128 kW / 174 hp V 280. In addition to the new models introduced into the product range, Daimler-Benz also presents a further milestone in the development of automotive power units
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  • 20/21 September 1997
  • On the penultimate weekend of the truck racing season, Heinz-Werner Lenz in a Mercedes-Benz 1838 S takes third and fourth place in Zolder, Belgium, to capture the champion's title in the Race Trucks category.
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  • 28 September 1997
  • Mercedes-Benz, engine partner to the Penske team, tops the constructors' standings in the CART World Series, the successor to the IndyCar series. The Bettenhausen, Forsythe, Hogan and Pac West customer teams also place their trust in the V8 engine, which develops around 588 kW / 800 hp.
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  • September 1997
  • The 290 GD Turbodiesel (461 series) cross-country vehicle, which is fitted with a 88 kW / 120 hp five-cylinder direct injection diesel engine, replaces the 290 GD with pre-chamber naturally aspirated engine in the range.
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  • 4/5 October 1997
  • Markus Oestreich wins the first run of the Super Race Trucks in a Mercedes-Benz 1834 S at the final event of the truck racing season in Jarama, Spain. In the end he takes third overall, ahead of Slim Borgudd in fourth, and Mercedes-Benz is runner-up in the constructors’ championship.
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  • 19 - 22 October 1997
  • At the annual convention of the American Trucking Associations in Las Vegas, Nevada/USA, Daimler-Benz AG reveals its intention to market the heavy-duty truck business, acquired from Ford in June 1997, under the "Sterling" brand in future. The new vehicle brand adds extra depth in particular to the Group’s range of construction site and distribution vehicles in the US.
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  • 24 October 1997
  • Almost exactly four years after the ground-breaking ceremony, the debis building is officially opened as the new headquarters of debis AG at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. Activities of the Daimler-Benz Group's services business are therefore focused at one of the most dynamic locations in Europe.
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  • 25 October - 5 November 1997
  • Daimler-Benz uses the Mercedes-Benz Maybach conceptual study to offer a glimpse of the innovative technology and equipment in luxury cars of the future at the Tokyo Motor Show.
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  • 26 October 1997
  • In the last Formula One race of the season, the European Grand Prix in Jerez, Spain, Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard seal a McLaren-Mercedes one-two victory at the wheel of the McLaren-Mercedes MP4-12. In the 1997 drivers' championship Coulthard finishes fourth and Häkkinen sixth. McLaren-Mercedes takes fourth place in the constructors' championship.
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  • 26 October 1997
  • Bernd Schneider and Klaus Ludwig take victory in the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR in the final race of the season in Laguna Seca, California/USA. This success gives Schneider the FIA GT drivers' championship title, while the team championship goes to AMG-Mercedes.
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  • 27 October 1997
  • In the presence of French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Dr Helmut Kohl and Daimler-Benz's Chairman of the Board of Management, Jürgen E. Schrempp, Micro Compact Car AG opens its smartville assembly plant in Hambach, France.
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  • 6 November 1997
  • The Egyptian German Automotive Company (EGA), in which Daimler-Benz AG holds a 26 % interest, opens its assembly plant at 6th-of-October City, 40 km southwest of Cairo. The joint venture builds E 200 saloons for the Egyptian market in the new plant.
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  • 11 November 1997
  • Following the "moose test" performed by Swedish magazine "Teknikens Värld", A-Class deliveries, which had begun in October, are suspended for twelve weeks to allow time for chassis retuning and for the dynamic handling control system ESP to be retrofitted and incorporated into large-scale production. These modifications allow the A-Class to pass extreme tests – even those simulating conditions far more demanding than those encountered in real life – more competently than its competitors.
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