The Fantastic Life of Mercedes Art Cars

As the title sponsor of Berlin�s Fashion Week, Mercedes-Benz placed some of its own designs into striking art installations meant to represent the eras in which the cars were built.
As part of the �Recollection Quartett,� staged by Mercedes-Benz and MoMu Fashion Museum, Antwerp, Belgian artist and photographer Frederik Heyman placed four cars amidst updated stereotypes of the years between 1967 and 1991.
For instance, though the SL roadster shown above was built in Germany, the artist said it came into its own on Sunset Boulevard during the freewheeling 1970s. Though we seem to recall gas lines, Watergate and skyrocketing interest rates, Heyman and fashion designer Bernhard Willhelm pay tribute to those who spent the entire Carter administration on a mattress at Plato�s Retreat.
Interestingly, the 1980s-era W123 wagon best known in the United States for shuttling wealthy suburbanites between tennis lessons and the pool at the club was popular among West German lumberjacks, tradesmen and outdoors enthusiasts. Mannequins in shoulder pads surrounding an S-Class coupe underneath fragments of a globe made from a chess board represent wealth and power in the late �80s, while the models� long shadows show they�re also pawns in that game.
About the only installation we can instantly relate to is the one surrounding the rock-solid W115. Faceless businesspeople in gray flannel suits look like they�ve stepped straight out of a Magritte painting, while a secretary in the front seat types out an advertisement in Arabic that reads �Taxi for sale,� a nod to the livery service the venerable �Stroke 8? models have offered around the world.
While the settings are certainly high-concept, they�re also proof that cars are as much a product of their respective eras as they are representative of those times.
Photos: Mercedes-Benz

The W115 was popular among business types and cab drivers in far-flung locales

Bobby Brown drove a 560 SEC, and so did world power players in the late '80s.

By Keith Barry January 21, 2011

MINICHAMPS 1/43 MERCEDES-BENZ UNIMOG 401 WITH TRAILER

It's always good to see a model of a more unusual prototype. Coming from Minichamps you know that the result will be an accurate casting, the fine detailing extending to the cab interior. Of particular note are the excellent wheels, and the high level of finishing. Shop here

Remarkable 22ft Mercedes Finn Jet Art Car Limo- Video

I was just go another remarkable "Finnjet" art car video that really gives you a much better idea of the magnitide of this car. The Finn Jet, created by Antti Rahko, is a 22-foot-long, 7,500-pound compilation of chrome made from 40 different cars, based on two Mercedes-Benz station wagons welded together. There are also parts from a 1962 Chrysler Imperial thrown in the mix, plus 86 lights and 36 mirrors added over six years. It also has three axles, two of which are steerable, a stove, microwave, freezer, TV, two air conditioning and even a sauna (Finns are very serious about their saunas).

Finnish-born Rahko, who is from Kurikka, a town of about 10,000 in western Finland, emigrated to the United States in 1984. He left his son in charge of the furniture business he'd built in Europe. He retired from the business and with lots of free time and his interest in old cars he bought and scoured from junkyards. He mainly built this car to amuse him self but due to health issues the Finnjet is now available for sale for only $950,000. He was discovered at a Florida art car parade and since then has been a giant hit and was even featured on the Discover Channel.

The name �Finn Jet� traces back to 1976, when the Finns launched the longest and largest car ferry in the world, and the only one powered by gas turbines. The original Finnjet is said to still be the fastest conventional ferry in service, with a recorded top speed of 33.5 knots.

Photo by Paul McRae



Photo by Kay and Kevin Rolfes

Mercedes Art Car or Illuminati Conspiracy

I am not sure what a half a Mercedes art car with the face of Karl Max and Jimi Hendrix means but here are some thoughts.

1) Goofy kid who thinks that Karl and Jimi were in a band together.

2) Artistic commentary: Karl Marx a German communist philosopher wrote against the capitalistic system in his Communist Manifesto is represented in this half Mercedes Art Car.

3) Its part of a secret government conspiracy and the government media complex funded by George Soros backed by the Bilderberg Group with roots in the Illuminati.  Their goal is to take over the world, and create a one world government in which the elite will rule the masses. They will do this by collapsing our current economic system and then setting up a new system making it mandatory for everyone to get implanted with a bio chip aka "the mark of the beast" in order to buy and sell products. They will start by cutting Mercedes cars in half, painting them with images of Karl Marx and then attaching them to federal buildings as a sign that the end is near.


4) Just a Mercedes Art Car.

What do you think this means???

How to sell an Art Car by Bizarro

Comic by Bizarro

Anyone who has ever had an Art Car for sale will tell you that convincing someone to look past all the paint and glued objects can be tough. This Bizarro comic depicting a father attempting to get the buyer to look past all the barbies glued on his daughters 2001 Mercedes S430 sedan says it all.

SCHUCO 1/43 MERCEDES-BENZ UNIMOG 404 S THW COMMUNICATIONS TRUCK

The Mercedes-Benz Unimog traces its roots to the late �40s as a simple, four-wheel drive, multi-purpose agricultural vehicle. It has evolved to become a sophisticated truck with a variety of commercial applications. The U300/U400/U500 series was introduced in 2000 and continues the decades-long Unimog tradition of utility and reliability. Unimogs have very high ground clearance�higher than a Humvee�made possible by portal gears that allow the axles and transmission to be higher than the tire centers. Unimogs also feature a flexible frame that allows the tires a wide range of vertical movement to allow the truck to comfortably drive over extremely uneven terrain. They are equipped with high visibility cabs to enable the driver to see the terrain and more easily manipulate mounted tools. A variety of diesel engines are available in the Unimog, depending on the intended duty. See more

MATCHBOX - MERCEDES UNIMOG

The most recognizable model of the Mercedes Unimog is the small-scale model produced by Lesney Matchbox in 1967 as catalogue number 49. The Matchbox Unimog was a popular toy and thus continued production into the 1970s as a Superfast model. The Matchbox Unimog was released in two main variations, one model had a blue cab and bed and red chassis and the other had a tan body and turquoise chassis. Both models are relatively easy to find but I believe the tan models is slightly scarcer.--Model Collector

CMC MERCEDES-BENZ 300 SLR UHLENHAUT COUPE, 1955

Who doesn't know about the famous Uhlenhaut coupe with its landmark gullwing doors? Only two prototypes of this model were built, and it was and still is a formidable street car. Today every automobile enthusiast knows what is meant by "the Uhlenhaut coupe," even though this was never an official designation. When Rudolf went to work in the morning, the whole neighborhood noticed it. This CMC model is a precision model, hand-assembled and composed of 1,817 single parts. The "greenhouse" of this coup� resembles the cockpit of a plane. The seats are covered with checked cloth fabric. True to the original, the interior is covered with red leather. The cockpit is complete with all instruments, control elements, switches and levers. Inside the trunk are two removable spare wheels, which are of different diameters, corresponding to those of the front and rear wheels respectively. The shiny side pipes, coming out of the air opening, are made of stainless steel. The cover of the maintenance opening can be removed. It is held in place by a simple but elegant magnetic mechanism. Everything is replicated faithfully to the real car. Additional features of this incredible model include: Rotary flipper window, which is integrated inside the side window, highly-detailed and angular-installed 8-cylinder in-line-engine, all aggregates, pipes and cabling included, support rod for the engine hood, hand-wired spokes, stainless-steel nipples, and aluminum rim, a fine wire mesh protects the air inlet duct of the engine, removable three-wing central locking nuts and detachable wheels. The central locking nuts are so designed that they are side-specific, and finally detail-exact rear bodywork showing the Mercedes star, the 300 SLR type designation and the D-Logo. See more

MAISTO 1/18 MERCEDES S CLASS - METTALLIC RED

The Mercedes S-Class is no dainty elfin fairy. In 1/18th scale it's a heavy old model, individual door handles, a good interior and a well-detailed engine make an impressive model in this light mettalic red version. Shop here

BRUMM MERCEDES BENZ 300 SLR (TARGA FLORIO CAR)

Brumm no. R189 is Fangio's car, number 112, from the 1955 Targa Florio, while R190 is the 300SLR which with Stirling Moss, with navigator Dennis Jenkinson, scored his famous victory in the Mille Miglia, one of only two occassions that a non-Italian car won the 1,000 mile road race. This model has a double fairing for driver and navigator. Brumm later introduced a limited edition model of the 1955 Targa Florio-winning machine of Collins and Moss (no.S034). All the Mercedes Benz models are silver in colour. Incidentally, Brumm has also produced the coupe version of the Mercedes 300SLR (no. R187) which was prepared for the 1955 Carrera Panamerican, but the race was cancelled and the car never raced. Shop here

SCHUCO 1:43 MERCEDES-BENZ 170V TEXACO DELIVERY VAN

The 170V was first displayed by Mercedes Benz at the 1936 Berlin Motor Show and enjoyed a production from 1935 to 1941. It provided the basis for the resumption of Mercedes car production following WWII because its tooling has escaped destruction. The Pre-War 170V was produced in several models, a Cabrio-Limo, Cabriolet A and B models, and a very rare Roadster. The 170V continued in 1947, with the 170D and S models being produced. The 170S was introduced at the Hanover show in 1949 and was based on pre-war designs. That same year, Cabriolet versions of the 170S were also introduced but production ended in 1951. In 1953, S-D and S-V versions were introduced, and although their production was limited, they were actually stripped-down models of the S. The 170 sedan series ended in 1955. Shop here

CORGI - MERCEDES-BENZ C111

This was a Mecedes-Benz C111, with the release in Whizzwheels. This was an experimental car that featured gull-wing doors which were fairly well represented on the model with fully-opening doors. Produced in Orange with Black baseplate.

1934 Italian Grand Prix

The Italian Grand Prix was held on September 9th at the Autodromo Di Monza. In the previous year�s Grand Prix, serious accidents had taken the lives of Giuseppe Campari and two other drivers. To lessen the speeds, it was decided that the track should be shortened from 10kms to 4.3kms, with many chicanes added in. With 500kms to cover for the Grand Prix, this made for a longer, more grueling race.

Mercedes had their W25, Bugatti their Type 59, Scuderia Ferrari the Alfa P3, while Maserati introduced the new model 6C-34, to be driven by Tazio Nuvolari. The balance of their team would drive the 8CMs.

Pen&ink, markers, and pencil on archival white stock 12�x 9� � Paul Chenard 2010

Original art & limited editions available.

At the start, Hans Stuck took an early lead for Auto Union but was soon overtaken by Mercedes driver Rudolf Caracciola. His teammate Manfred Georg Rudolf von Brauchitsch was not competing, having been injured in a crash at the previous Swiss Grand Prix. Battling amongst the leaders were Luigi Fagioli (Mercedes), Archille Varzi (Alfa Romeo), Nuvolari (Maserati) and Count Carlo Felice Trossi (Alfa Romeo).

Unfortunately for Nuvolari, the Maserati mechanics forgot to top-up his car's brake fluid after weigh-in, so he slowly lost his brakes during the long race.

The 4.75 hour race, with it�s 1600 total corners, took a toll on the drivers and the cars. Fagioli, whose car broke down, later replaced Caracciola, who had to be lifted out of his car. Stuck had to be replaced by zu Leiningen, and Trossi by Comotti.

Varzi dropped out with mechanical woes, so the race finished with Caracciola/Figioli in first place, Stuck/zu Leiningen in second, with Trossi/Comotti in third. After 4th place Chiron (Alfa Romeo), Nuvolari finished a respectable 5th place, using his gears to brake for the last half of the race.

CMC 1/18 - 1952 MERCEDES 300SL DIECAST MODEL "CARRERA PANAMERICAN"

1952 Mercedes 300 SL Diecast Car Model 1/18 Carrera Panamericana 3 Die Cast Car Model by CMC

This is the 1952 Mercedes Benz 300 SL as driven to a 2nd place finish in the Carrera Pan-Americana by Hermann Lang. Impeccable detail inside and out, you will marvel at the intricate detailing of this classic race car. No detail has been omitted or overlooked, from the fully detailed engine to the real wire laced wheels, authentic interior and more! These are among the best quality available for vintage and historic cars. Great stuff for you 1:18 collectors! This version boasts an all new decoration process that has been developed by CMC. Limited numbered edition of just 3,000 pieces For the racing coach of Mercedes Benz - Alfred Neubaner - only one victory was missing, the CARRERA PANAMERICANA, a long distance race in Latin America. With four competition cars -the Germans Kling and Lang in coup?s, the American John Fitch and a German journalist named G?nther Molter in roadsters -together with a team of 35 service people the crew flew to Latin America in November 1952 to take on the grueling race. Kling would win the race and Lang would finish 2nd.

Convertible Mercedes Art Car in Under Two Hours

Do you have an art car event or parade this weekend and have nothing to drive? The experts over at Mercedes Source have boiled the entire art car making process down to a science in just under two hours. They managed to convert this 123 Mercedes into a convertible complete with flame job, custom rims, skull and cross bones and the all important message on the side. In his case it reads "Born 2 Drive" and all you need is a crew of about 5 people with skills in: Chopping, ripping, spray painting and a little design. So no more excuses, go out there and "git r done".

Garden Art Car Goes to Court

This garden art car is headed to The U.S. Supreme Court that will consider an appeal next month from the owner of Planet K stores over his long-running battle with the city of San Marcos about his right to display it. In 2007 Michael Kleinman paid two artists to transform this salvage special in front of his store into a painted cactus planter art car. City officials got themselves hot and bothered, claiming the Oldsmobile 88 was in violation of a city ordinance declaring such displays public nuisances. The car was removed and Kleinman is appealing a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in February that found the car-planter to be �ultimately a junked vehicle.�  Good luck with that!! via Its funny I was going to do a garden art car post a while back and forgotten about it until my dad sent me this article two days ago. As you can see these are just a few of the garden cars I found from around the world. Most are intentional, some natural and the last one is purely accidental. If you like these you might also like the Grass Art Cars also on Art Car Central.