Mercedes-Benz Unimog owners have celebrated their special status in Gaggenau, Germany, for the 75th anniversary of their ride. To celebrate the moment, 75 vehicles made up a unique convoy.
The vehicles drove from the production plant in Worth am Rhein via Karlsruhe and along the country roads, straight to the Unimog’s home town in Gaggenau. It is there where the omnipotent model with the star on the bonnet rolled off the assembly line starting 1951, when Mercedes took over the business.
Albert Friedrich and Heinrich Rößler were the ones to design the first ever, shortly after World War II, for agricultural purposes. It featured rear-wheel drive, switchable front-wheel drive and equal-size wheels. It was designed for surfaces that seemed impossible for other motorized vehicles.
Actually, the original birthplace of the “universally applicable motorized device” was Schwabisch Gmund. The first prototype underwent testing on fields and up hills starting 1946, right there.
Gaggenau now hosts the Unimog Museum. Therefore, on the grounds of the museum, visitors had the chance to look at the 75 vehicles that made up the Mercedes-Benz Unimog convoy. Various presentations took place to help the vehicles show off their abilities and intimidating looks. The convoy participants took part in demonstration drives around the Otigheim testing grounds.
The Mercedes-Benz Unimog is the Off-road Vehicle of the Year for the 17th time in a row
This past weekend, Unimog Club Gaggenau, the Unimog Musem and Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks joined hands to set up the celebration. 2,000 guests attended the “birthday” party. They all came to see the venerable truck in action.
The model got the “Off-road vehicle of the year” award this year for the 17th year in a row. And it seems unbeatable since no car or utility vehicle maker would make the effort to build such a model. That is because the invincibility of the Mercedes-Benz truck is simply the major setback that they deal with.
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