Mercedes-Benz W18

Mercedes-Benz W18
Mercedes-Benz 290 "Cabriolet B" (ca 1934)
Overview
ManufacturerMercedes-Benz
Also calledMercedes-Benz Typ 290
Production1933–1937
7,495 cars
AssemblyStuttgart, Germany
Body and chassis
ClassLuxury car
Body styleShorter chassis 1933 – 1937: 4-door "Limousine" (sedan/saloon) with 6 side windows
Torpedo-bodied 4-door “Tourenwagen”
2 & 4-door Cabriolets (various)

Longer chassis 1934 – 1937:
4-door "Limousine" (sedan/saloon) with 4 side windows
4-door 6-seater "Pullman-Limousine" (sedan/saloon) with 6 side windows
Torpedo-bodied 4-door 6-seater “Tourenwagen”
2 & 4-door Cabriolets (various)
Roadster (from 1936)
LayoutFR layout
Powertrain
Engine2,867 cc M18 I6
Dimensions
Wheelbase2,880 mm (113 in) or
3,300 mm (130 in)
Length4,370 mm (172 in) or
4,870 mm (192 in)
Width1,730 mm (68 in)
Height1,440 mm (57 in) -
1,660 mm (65 in)
Chronology
PredecessorMercedes-Benz W10
SuccessorMercedes-Benz W142
Mercedes-Benz 320A

The Mercedes-Benz W18 was a six-cylinder automobile introduced as the Mercedes-Benz Typ 290 in 1933. It was a smaller-engined successor to the manufacturer’s Typ 350 / 370 Mannheim model.[1] In terms of the German auto-business of the 1930s it occupied a market position roughly equivalent to that filled by the Mercedes-Benz E-Class in the closing decades of the twentieth century.[2] The W18 was replaced in 1937 by the manufacturer’s W142 (Typ 320).[3]

Several different models with names incorporating the number “290” were produced by Mercedes-Benz during the 1930s, so that for the avoidance of ambiguity the car is frequently identified using the manufacturer's Works Number as the Mercedes-Benz W18.

  1. ^ Oswald, pp. 244 & 245
  2. ^ Oswald, p. 244
  3. ^ Oswald, p. 244