Adolf Hitler championed the Peoples Car that became the iconic Volkswagen Beetle, but he had an even greater fondness for the various Mercedes-Benz 770 state cars he used for all occasions. He was not alone.

Popes (Pope Pius XI), emperors (Japan’s Hirohito), kings (the King of Norway) and dictators from Italy’s Mussolini to Spain’s Franco also treasured this black beast of a luxury car – which for Hitler was modified into a fearsome, bullet-proof symbol of power and oppression with room to hide machine pistols. The W150 version of the 770 (1938-43) is often seen in cabriolet form with Hitler standing in back waving to crowds on parade, a smug, fiendish look on his face.

If you’ve taken a high school history course, you’ve seen the big Mercs with Hitler. Indeed, he’s known to have given 770s to the leaders of Axis countries (such as Mussolini) and, of course, his top lieutenants from the drug-addicted Hermann Goring to sadistic, scheming Heinrich Himmler. The Nazis well understood the power of symbolism and propaganda. The 770 was, indeed, an iron fist of a state car for the leader of a wicked regime.

I mention this now, in the time of our pandemic lockdown, because my thoughts have been drifting to some of the great places I’ve visited as a journalist covering the auto industry and its products. During my last visit to the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, I found myself more than a little surprised to see an honest portrayal of Mercedes’ deep connection to Nazi Germany. No sugar coating.

Germany in the 1930s and through the war to 1945 was a swirl of fanatical loyalty and cowardly appeasement to a regime of unimaginatively cruel oppression. But by God, the cars Hitler and his murderous cronies rode in were beautiful works of engineering excellence.

– Source: Mercedes-Benz

Beneath the gleaming black Sheetmetal with its curves and beauteous shapes, there was a supercharged inline eight-cylinder engine mated to a gearbox with five forward gears. The brakes were hydraulic and the suspension was fully independent. It’s said these were the most expensive luxury cars of the day and the remaining ones are now worth many millions if ever sold at auction (one is on display at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa).

Of course, there is much more to the history of Mercedes-Benz than a connection to Hitler. Much more.

Today’s Daimler AG, the parent of the Mercedes-Benz brand, came together in stages staring 120 years ago. Here’s a thumbnail of the story:

In 1900, the then-Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) was a fairly new business venture whose top dealer was a Nice, France-based businessman named Emil Jellinek. Jellinek raced various Daimler models to great success. At some point, his winning cars came to be known by the name “Mercedes,” after Jellinek’s daughter. The Mercedes 35 PS was the first car named after her and its racing success in 1901 set the stage for a globally recognized name – Mercedes.

– Source: Mercedes-Benz

By 1909, DMG had added the three-pointed star as symbol of Gottlieb Daimler’s vision of the use of engines on land, sea and water. In 1926, DMG and Benz & Cie – founded by Carl Benz who some say invented the modern automobile in 1886 – merged. A global brand was born, with the Mercedes-Benz name subsequently registered as a global trademark in late 1927, followed about a year later by the company logo.

All that has been Mercedes-Benz over the past 120 years is there in the museum — displayed creatively in a multi-story architectural masterpiece of a building designed expressly for presenting history in, shall we say, the Sheetmetal. Some 800,000 visitors stop by during a normal year.

Of course, these are abnormal times. The museum is closed for the pandemic. Ah, but you can visit it virtually. If you’re a car or history buff, here are the links:

– Source: Mercedes-Benz

Start your virtual, five-kilometre walk-through here, at the museum’s web site. There, you’ll find 360-degree shots of all seven Legend and five Collection rooms. Go here to meet Jutta Benz, great-granddaughter of Carl Benz and here to meet Bernd Mayländer, who has been driving the safety car in Formula 1 for twenty years.

Moving on, here you’ll find a YouTube video in 180-degree virtual reality format and here is a film chronicling a night at the museum with a group of bloggers and influencers. This web site is filled with digital bits about all-time great Mercs, as well as the archives, the Classic Center, clubs and more. The quiz lets you find which classic car suits you best out of Merc’s brand history. You can find all the Merc magazines here for Android and here for iOS. Merc will happily sell you souvenirs and branded trinkets from the online shop here.

– Source: Mercedes-Benz

And yes, somewhere in all that, you’ll find the 770, for while its most famous owner was evil personified, the car itself was a masterpiece.