Exactly 140 years after Carl Benz filed the patent for the first automobile, three new Mercedes-Benz S-Class saloons set off on a journey around the world on 29 January 2026: Bertha, Carl and Gottlieb, named after the pioneers of individual mobility, Carl and Bertha Benz and Gottlieb Daimler. On 17 October, the four-wheeled globetrotters returned safely to where their intercontinental journey began – the Mercedes-Benz Museum. See the photo here above.
Over the course of nearly nine months, they covered more than 65,000 kilometres, averaging around 450 kilometres per day. Bertha and Gottlieb travelled from time to time in parallel to reunite again on the road across 55 countries on six continents. The journey involved a total of 67 border crossings, the clocks had to be reset 28 times and the climate control systems in the S-Class vehicles regulated the temperature across 13 climate zones. The ‘140 Years. 140 Places.’ tour was among Mercedes-Benz’s most ambitious activities.
Of course the tour also visited Belgium. You see here Bertha and Gottlieb in front of our royal palace in Brussels…
But it was also a good occasion to photograph the travelling S classes along the Mercedes that made a hit in the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps! This was the 1971 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.8 AMG, affectionately known as the “Red Pig” (Rote Sau). It didn’t take the overall victory but achieved a sensational class win and second place overall, a result that put the then-young AMG tuning company on the map.
The birth of AMG…
In 1971, AMG founders Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher entered this modified luxury sedan. Despite weighing 1,635 kg (already 195 kg lighter than the production version), the car’s immense power on the long straights of the old 14.8 km Spa circuit allowed drivers Hans Heyer and Clemens Schickentanz to compensate for its thirst for fuel and heavy tire wear . While many faster, lighter cars retired, the reliable Mercedes survived the night and crossed the finish line in second place overall.
The original “Red Pig” was eventually sold to … Matra for aircraft tire testing and was later destroyed, so it no longer exists . However, its legacy is secure: this single race transformed AMG from a small engineering firm into a globally recognized performance brand . Mercedes-AMG has since built exact replicas to honor the car, and its spirit lives on in the modern AMG lineup.
The technical specifications of the 1971 “Red Pig” were extraordinary for a touring car of its era: the Engine: a 6.8-liter M100 V8, was enlarged from the production 6.3-liter unit. Its power was 428 hp (315 kW), combined with a massive torque of 620 Nm.
It would sprint from 0–100 km/h in 6.1 seconds, top speed being over 265 km/h… rather sensational then…
But back to the present: we will soon test the new C Class for you, the C 400 4Matic AMG Line Electric. Stay tuned!
Hans Knol ten Bensel
