Car blogs

Dan Trent writes:
Over three-quarters of a century has passed since this dinky little rear-engined Mercedes was first shown at the Berlin motor show. Driving it in LA recently was huge fun and a massive privilege too. Sure, I love a fast, sporty car as much as anyone. And with 26hp and a 57mph top speed the 130 is neither of those things.

But it is an interesting one. And characterful too. Relevant though? Yup. Because although not a huge success the thinking behind the 130 is, note for note, pretty much the same tune being played in carmakers’ boardrooms everywhere. Namely, how to downsize a luxury brand into a small car without cheapening it?

The motivation in the 30s was social as much as financial. Financial turmoil meant fewer people could afford big cars and at the same time luxury brands like Mercedes saw the potential in selling smaller, more affordable versions of the big, fancy cars they were known for.

Much like Audi is doing with the A1. And BMW has done with the Mini. And Mercedes with the A-Class and its Smart sub-brand.

Now, as in the 30s, people equated big cars with status, luxury and wealth.  But now, as then, there’s a feeling you can bring all that sense of quality to a lower price point without diluting what makes it special.

Sticking the engine in the back was radical from a technical point of view but a pragmatic solution at the time to squeezing the most passenger space into a small car – see the Beetle and original Fiat 500 as two later cars to follow the same example. And, with the Smart, a tradition Mercedes has continued to pursue to this day, albeit under a different brand name.

Dan
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Links:
Did Mercedes invent the Beetle?
Top 20 rear-engined cars
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Tags: On the Road

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Nothing back to front about this old Merc was originally published by Inside Track. Read the full story by clicking here.