THE CURATED EDITION.
Reportage / Stuttgart
Three new S-Class saloons, more than 50,000 km, six continents and 140 stops. Mercedes-Benz marked its 140th year by sending the car that defines it around the world and back to Stuttgart.
MERCEDES-BENZ | 140 YEARS. 140 PLACES | STUTTGART 2026
On 29 January 1886, Carl Benz filed the patent for the Patent-Motorwagen, the three-wheeler the industry recognises as the first modern automobile. On 29 January 2026, Mercedes-Benz revealed the new S-Class. The shared date says a great deal about the car’s place in the company. When Mercedes-Benz needed one car to tell its story at 140, it chose the S-Class and put it on the road.
The project is called 140 Years. 140 Places. Shortly after the world premiere, three new S-Class saloons left Stuttgart for a drive of more than 50,000 km across six continents, with 140 stops chosen to represent chapters of the company’s history: legendary routes, historic landmarks and megacities. The convoy began in Europe, through Switzerland, France, Spain and Belgium, then crossed to South America, North America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, India and Africa. The final leg runs through south-eastern Europe, the Baltic states, Scandinavia and the United Kingdom before the cars return to Stuttgart in October.
At each checkpoint the S-Class is joined by classic Mercedes-Benz models, current production cars and vehicles from local fleets. The new car appears alongside the lineage that explains it, and owners, members of the Mercedes-Benz Clubs and passers-by are given a reason to stop.
At 140, Mercedes-Benz chose to be remembered for the car that defines its idea of luxury, not for a supercar or a show concept.
No other Mercedes-Benz carries as much symbolic weight. The flagship saloon has carried the S-Class name since 1972, and each generation has served as a preview of what the brand later brings to the rest of its range in safety, comfort and technology. Sending it around the world is a statement of position.
There is also a market reading. Across much of the world, large saloons have been losing ground to SUVs, including at the top of the luxury segment. Making the S-Class the centre of the anniversary is a way of saying that Mercedes-Benz does not intend to give up the category that built its reputation.
Anniversary campaigns tend to end with the event. This one kept the product in view for most of a year, across dozens of countries, with the journey documented through the Mercedes-Benz Community platform and the brand’s own channels. The celebration works because it is not built on nostalgia. It looks back in order to justify the car the company sells today.
Stuttgart, where the story began, receives the car Mercedes-Benz chose to represent it, with 50,000 km on the odometer and six continents behind it. The circle closes almost literally, and the S-Class is still at its centre.
Details and further reading: 140 Years. 140 Places · Mercedes-Benz
Instagram: @mercedesbenz
GABRIEL SILVEIRADO, FOR WAYFARER.
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