March

The Mercedes-Benz 300 is available with a ZF-Saginaw power-assisted steering gear as an optional extra. It is the first Mercedes-Benz model offered with power steering.

Mercedes-Benz presents an elegant four-seater coupe study that reinterprets the Mercedes face at the Geneva Motor Show. The 210 series E-Class presented in 1995 and the CLK introduced in 1997 bring design elements of the coupe study into series production. The 500 GE, a limited special model of the cross-country vehicle fitted with a 177 kW / 240 hp five-litre V8 engine also has its world premiere.

The Mercedes-Benz CLK Convertible (208 series) and E 55 AMG Estate (210 series) celebrate their world premieres at the Geneva Motor Show. The smart City Coupé produced by Micro Compact AG is presented in its revised version, scheduled to go into production in the autumn.

The driver team Jean-Louis Schlesser/Mauro Baldi/Jochen Mass wins the first race of the 1988 Sports Car World Championship in Jerez, Spain, in a Sauber-Mercedes C 9. Further wins follow in Brno, Czechoslovakia, on the Nürburgring and in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium.

Mercedes-Benz presents the "Vision GLK BLUETEC HYBRID" with environment-friendly diesel-hybrid drive at the Geneva Motor Show. The upgraded models of the CLS-Class (C 219 series) and, with distinctly modified styling, the SL-Class (R 230 series) also celebrate their premiere. Also making its debut is the particularly dynamic Mercedes-Benz SL 63 AMG variant, which is exclusively equipped with the innovative AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT 7-speed sports transmission. This unit uses a wet multiplate start-up clutch in place of a conventional torque converter. In conjunction with the throttle blipping function and RACE START mode, it enables a very dynamic driving experience. In the CL 500 4 MATIC Mercedes-Benz presents a first all-wheel-drive coupé. In the C-Class (204 series), particularly fuel-efficient variants of the C 180 KOMPRESSOR, the C 200 CDI and the new C 350 CGI with spray-guided petrol direct injection make their debut under the label "BlueEFFICIENCY".

At the Australian Grand Prix, the opening race of the Formula One season in Melbourne, AMG deploys a C 55 AMG Estate as the new Medical Car. The official Safety Car remains the CLK 55 AMG first used in 1997.

The CLK 55 AMG makes its debut as the Formula One Safety Car at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

At the Fourth International ESV Conference in Kyoto, Japan, Daimler-Benz presents the ESF 22 experimental safety vehicle, based on the S-Class (116 series).

The Mercedes-Benz 230 SL (W 113) is presented at the Geneva Motor Show to replace the 300 SL and 190 SL sports cars. This is the world's first sports car to feature the safety bodywork developed by Béla Barényi. Its hardtop has a concave roof line which leads to it being called the "Pagoda SL". The new SL is the first Mercedes-Benz car fitted with a dual-circuit brake system as standard. Another new product on show in Geneva is a version the 300 SE with 10-cm-longer wheelbase, which establishes the tradition of long-wheelbase S-Class saloons.

At the International Motor Show in Vienna, Österreichische Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft presents the Coupé and Double Phaeton variants of the small car designed by Paul Daimler in Cannstatt. Production begins in Wiener Neustadt, but not in high unit numbers.

In the first race of the 2008 Formula One season, the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, a new Safety Car and new Medical Car see service for the first time. The SL 63 AMG is the official Safety Car of the 2008 season; the C 63 AMG Estate is the official Medical Car.

Mercedes-Benz hands over the first natural gas powered Sprinter 316 NGT to a customer. The firm, CWS-boco International GmbH, begins extensive testing of the vehicle in routine service. At the Hanover Commercial Vehicle Show in September, CWS-boco signs a framework agreement on the delivery of 150 natural gas Sprinter vans.

After its successful launch in the USA, the Mercedes-Benz M-Class also appears at sales and service outlets and dealerships across Europe.

Kimi Räikkönen, successor to Mika Häkkinen on the McLaren-Mercedes team since 2002, wins the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang in an MP 4-17D to take his first Formula One victory.

With the start of production of the new Actros, the DaimlerChrysler Commercial Vehicle Division continues its strategic product initiative. The flagship model among the heavy-duty trucks sets new standards for economic efficiency and customer focus. The new Actros generation replaces what has become the best-selling heavy-duty truck in Europe and was first introduced in 1996.

The one-millionth car of the 201 series compact class, a 190, is completed in Bremen and presented by Prof. Werner Niefer, member of the Board of Management, to a representative of the youth welfare facilities of the City of Bremen.

In the Sindelfingen plant of DMG the first workshops begin production of aeroengines. The necessary test rigs are constructed that autumn. Due to the lack of machinery the first engines do not complete their trials on the test rig until the latter stages of the war.

The Paris-based French engineer and designer Émile Roger is granted exclusive distribution rights in France for vehicles and engines from Benz & Co.