Align supply with demand
Mercedes would wait until 1952 to introduce an “improved” version, the 170SB. Among the changes made were a larger rear window, hidden trunk hinges, a steering-wheel-mounted shifter, a larger track, hypoid gearing, a camshaft driven by a duplex roller chain and finally a more efficient heating system.
The loss of newfound prestige
It was produced until 1953 alongside a DS diesel version that unfortunately sullied the model’s reputation. Prices dropped at that time both because of the age of the model and the imminent arrival of the 180 Series. That was the moment where the 170 would be perverted into a multitude of versions considered fake, even by Mercedes.
The grand image of the 170S Cabriolet A and B from 1949 to 1951 lost all the newfound prestige of the brand in favour of models that did certainly sell better, as production of the 170 would reach nearly 15,000 units until 1955. It’s interesting to note that, of that number, only 300 cars were gas-powered.
Contributing the decline of the brand’s image, numerous versions were created by private individuals who even went so far as to make trucks out of them.
Rather disappear than become anonymous
The bell would truly toll for the 170 Series in 1953 with the arrival of the 180 or Ponton, which at that time was known for being a bland pencil-pusher’s car but with a decidedly modern look. Surprisingly, the new 2010 E-Class brings the Ponton to mind, as it borrowed its rear pontoon fenders.
Through the years and into the right hands
I have to admit that this 1949 170S Cabriolet S was one of my favourites at the Le Mirage Concours d’Elegance. In perfect condition, this car represents the efforts of a great automaker trying to reclaim its prestige of old.
If we had the chance to admire such a car it’s thanks to the work of Neru Spiratos and his brother, who acquired the car in 2004 with only 30,000 km behind it.
Bought new from a Belgian industrialist, it was sold in the 1960s with only 15,000 km on its odometer. It was imported here in the late 1970s by a Belgian immigrant who used it only rarely before putting it in storage for 25 years, after which it came back to life in the capable hands of the Spiratos brothers.
photo:Luc-Olivier Chamberland
Mercedes would wait until 1952 to introduce an “improved” version, the 170SB. Among the changes made were a larger rear window, hidden trunk hinges, a steering-wheel-mounted shifter, a larger track, hypoid gearing, a camshaft driven by a duplex roller chain and finally a more efficient heating system.
The loss of newfound prestige
It was produced until 1953 alongside a DS diesel version that unfortunately sullied the model’s reputation. Prices dropped at that time both because of the age of the model and the imminent arrival of the 180 Series. That was the moment where the 170 would be perverted into a multitude of versions considered fake, even by Mercedes.
The grand image of the 170S Cabriolet A and B from 1949 to 1951 lost all the newfound prestige of the brand in favour of models that did certainly sell better, as production of the 170 would reach nearly 15,000 units until 1955. It’s interesting to note that, of that number, only 300 cars were gas-powered.
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Contributing the decline of the brand’s image, numerous versions were created by private individuals who even went so far as to make trucks out of them.
Rather disappear than become anonymous
The bell would truly toll for the 170 Series in 1953 with the arrival of the 180 or Ponton, which at that time was known for being a bland pencil-pusher’s car but with a decidedly modern look. Surprisingly, the new 2010 E-Class brings the Ponton to mind, as it borrowed its rear pontoon fenders.
Through the years and into the right hands
I have to admit that this 1949 170S Cabriolet S was one of my favourites at the Le Mirage Concours d’Elegance. In perfect condition, this car represents the efforts of a great automaker trying to reclaim its prestige of old.
If we had the chance to admire such a car it’s thanks to the work of Neru Spiratos and his brother, who acquired the car in 2004 with only 30,000 km behind it.
Bought new from a Belgian industrialist, it was sold in the 1960s with only 15,000 km on its odometer. It was imported here in the late 1970s by a Belgian immigrant who used it only rarely before putting it in storage for 25 years, after which it came back to life in the capable hands of the Spiratos brothers.
photo:Luc-Olivier Chamberland
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