Benz and Cie was established in 1871 by Karl Benz who by 1886 had developed and built the first four-stroke engine powered car. He was credited as the inventor of the first "true" automobile since his rival Daimler's vehicle was a horse carriage adapted with an engine.

Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft - (DMG) was founded by Gottlieb Daimler and his partner Wilhelm Maybach in 1890. The two rival companies began to co-operate in 1924, owing to economic necessity and this agreement remained in place until the year 2000. After the official merger on June 28, 1926, the firm became known as Daimler-Benz.

The name Mercedes-Benz was established after that merger. The name of Mercedes was written on a DMG race car in honour of a man?s daughter and became the formal name of a DMG model in 1902. Thus, Mercedes-Benz became the brand name applied to the models of one of the new firms.

As part of the 1926 merger, a new logo was also created by Gottlieb Daimler, the three pointed star which is now amongst the most famous logos in the world today.

Over its long and illustrious history Mercedes-Benz has become the epitome of automotive engineering excellence and luxury. In its time it has produced some iconic models like the 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster and the 1954 gull-winged SL300.