- 2026 marks 140 years since Benz’s 1886 patent and 100 years since the Mercedes-Benz brand’s formation.
- The anniversary calendar includes 50 years of the W123, plus major safety and S-Class milestones.
- Motorsport and heritage highlights span Group C victories, F1 Safety Car service and museum anniversaries.
Mercedes-Benz Classic has dusted off the history books and circled 2026 in red pen.
The coming year stacks milestone on milestone for the brand - some neat, some genuinely seismic - and the company plans to mark the lot with a rolling programme of stories, displays and commemorations.
From patent sketch to global powerhouse
The headline number is 140 years since Carl Benz filed his patent for a three-wheeled “vehicle with gas-engine drive” in January 1886 - widely accepted as the birth certificate of the automobile.
Just weeks later, Gottlieb Daimler ordered a carriage that would become the first four-wheeled car with a high-speed combustion engine. Those parallel threads still define the brand’s DNA today.
Then comes the century mark. In June 1926, Benz & Cie. merged with Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft to form Daimler-Benz AG, officially creating Mercedes-Benz as a single marque. One hundred years on, that merger is the reason the three-pointed star sits atop everything from luxury saloons to race cars.
Icons, estates and a safety body
Product anniversaries add extra spice. It will be 50 years since the debut of the W123 in January 1976 - a model many still regard as the gold standard for durability and design balance. The Estate and Coupé followed soon after, cementing the line that would evolve into today’s E-Class.
Safety gets its own moment, too. In 1951, engineer Béla Barényi applied for a patent covering a safety body with crumple zones, an idea that would quietly reshape vehicle design worldwide. That same year also saw the IAA debut of the Mercedes-Benz 300 and 220, laying foundations for what would become the S-Class lineage.
Racing wins, museums and unexpected firsts
Motorsport history is baked into the calendar. The Sauber-Mercedes C8’s first Group C victory turns 40, while Mercedes-AMG’s long-running Formula One Safety Car role traces back 30 years to the C 36 AMG. There’s even a nod to record-breaking at Nardò, where the C 111-II D set world records in 1976.
Away from the track, the Mercedes-Benz Museum celebrates 20 years since opening in 2006, now firmly established as one of the world’s most visited automotive museums.
Mercedes-Benz Classic says more retrospectives will roll out across the year, drawing on its vast collection of more than 1000 historic vehicles. For fans of automotive history, 2026 looks less like a single birthday and more like a full-season festival.