
Gottlieb Daimler began his company in 1886 building road-going and then racing cars. In 1900, wealthy Austrian entrepreneur Emil Jellinek ordered 36 cars from Daimler with the proviso that they were to be named after his daughter Mercédès. This name was soon used on all Daimler cars, although the company name remained Daimler Motoren-Gesellschaft. Mercedes were known for their quality and became famous for both road and racing cars and also held the World’s Land Speed Record in 1904. After WW I, Germany experienced great financial hardship and eventually in 1926, the company joined with Benz to form Daimler-Benz AG, with all cars from then on badged as Mercedes-Benz.

















