# Iconic Mercedes-Benz Engines & Drivetrains | Otto Explains | AutoTronix **Section:** Otto Explains **Canonical:** https://autotronix.om/otto/mercedes-benz-engines-drivetrains **Language:** English **Arabic version:** https://autotronix.om/ar/otto/mercedes-benz-engines-drivetrains --- ## Short Answer Mercedes-Benz engineering runs from Carl Benz’s 0.75 hp engine of 1886 to today’s 48-volt hybrids and axial flux electric motors. Its landmarks include supercharged sports cars in the 1920s, the first four-stroke direct petrol injection in a production car in the 300 SL, the first production car with a turbodiesel in 1978, its first V12 in 1991, common-rail diesels from 1997, the 7G-TRONIC automatic and 4MATIC all-wheel drive, introduced in 1985. --- ## Where did Mercedes-Benz engineering begin? With two different engines. Carl Benz’s Patent Motor Car of 1886 used a combustion engine of just 0.55 kW (0.75 hp), built into a light chassis as one coherent design. In Stuttgart, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach developed a fast-running combustion engine in the early 1880s as a universal power unit for use on land, on water and in the air: it drove Daimler’s motor carriage and a motorboat in 1886 and, for the first time, an airship in 1888. In 1900 Maybach added another lasting idea, the honeycomb radiator, patented on 20 September 1900, which cooled the Mercedes 35 hp and shaped the brand’s radiator design. --- ## How has Mercedes-Benz used supercharging? A supercharger is a compressor that pushes more air into the engine. Paul Daimler introduced it at Mercedes to raise power and efficiency, and in the late 1920s it became the hallmark of the S-series sports touring cars, such as the SSK. Mercedes-Benz brought it back in 1995 with the C 230 Kompressor, its first passenger car with a Roots supercharger in more than 50 years. Today’s version is electric: the two-litre M 254 EVO petrol engine in the 2026 C-Class and the 3.0-litre six-cylinder of the Mercedes-AMG GLC 53 4MATIC+ combine an exhaust turbocharger with an electric auxiliary compressor that helps at low engine speeds. The difference between the two kinds of charging is explained in [turbochargers and superchargers](https://autotronix.om/otto/turbocharger-vs-supercharger). --- ## Why does the 300 SL matter for fuel injection? The 300 SL “Gullwing” of 1954 was the first production car with direct petrol injection in a four-stroke engine, a technology taken from racing. Petrol direct injection returned on a wide scale decades later, and in 2008 the C 350 CGI introduced the world’s first petrol engine with spray-guided direct injection, in which the injector shapes the fuel spray precisely in the combustion chamber. --- ## What did Mercedes-Benz change in diesel engines? Mercedes-Benz built diesels long before most car makers: its first compressorless six-cylinder diesel truck came in 1927. In passenger cars, the 300 SD of 1978 was the first luxury saloon with a diesel engine and the first production car with a turbocharged diesel. The C 250 Turbodiesel of 1995 was the first turbodiesel car with four valves per cylinder and charge-air cooling, and the C 220 CDI of 1997 was the first Mercedes-Benz car with common-rail direct injection, developed with Bosch, at pressures of up to 1,350 bar. The current four-cylinder diesel, the OM 654 EVO in the 2026 C-Class, injects at 2,200 bar, uses a variable-geometry turbocharger and is compatible with HVO100 renewable diesel. --- ## Which large engines made Mercedes-Benz famous? The 600 of 1963 had the brand’s first V8 engine in a passenger car, and from 1968 the 300 SEL 6.3 used a 184 kW (250 hp) V8 to give a luxury saloon sports-car performance. The 140-series S-Class of 1991 went further with the first twelve-cylinder engine in a Mercedes-Benz production car, in the 600 SE and 600 SEL. Outside the factory, AMG fitted a 5.0-litre V8 to an E-Class coupé in 1986, a car that became famous as “The Hammer”. How V8, V12 and other layouts differ is explained in [engine designs explained](https://autotronix.om/otto/engine-designs-explained). --- ## What makes AMG engines stand out? AMG became an engine maker in 1984, when co-founder Erhard Melcher designed its own cylinder head with four valves per cylinder. Its engines are now built in Affalterbach, and the M139 of the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S 4MATIC+ is assembled under the “One Man, One Engine” principle. Mercedes-AMG calls the M139 the most powerful series-production four-cylinder turbo engine in the world to date: 310 kW (421 hp) and 500 Nm from 2.0 litres. Other examples are the 3.0-litre in-line six of the GLC 53 4MATIC+, with 330 kW (449 hp), and the 4.0-litre V8 biturbo of the G 63, with 430 kW (585 hp). --- ## How did Mercedes-Benz add electric power to its engines? Step by step. The S 400 HYBRID of 2009 was the first luxury car with a hybrid drive and a lithium-ion battery, and the S 500 Plug-In HYBRID of 2014 was Mercedes-Benz’s first series-production plug-in hybrid. In 2017 the updated S-Class brought new in-line six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines with an integrated starter-alternator on a 48-volt system, which can assist the engine and replaces a separate starter and alternator. The modular four-cylinder engines M 264 (petrol) and OM 654 (diesel) followed in the C-Class in 2018, and in the 2026 C-Class the M 254 EVO works with a second-generation integrated starter-generator. The different kinds of hybrid are compared in [hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric cars](https://autotronix.om/otto/hybrid-vs-plug-in-hybrid-vs-electric). --- ## What has Mercedes-Benz done with fully electric drive? An early example was the SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive of 2012, with four electric motors producing 552 kW (751 hp) and 1,000 Nm together. The EQC of 2018 was the first Mercedes-Benz under the EQ brand for electric cars. The fully electric G 580 with EQ technology uses four individually controlled motors with a combined 432 kW, and in 2026 Mercedes-Benz began large-scale production of a compact axial flux motor in Berlin-Marienfelde, first used in the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupé. --- ## How did Mercedes-Benz automatic gearboxes develop? The path runs from the “Hydrak” hydraulically automated clutch, offered from 1957, to a four-speed automatic transmission in the 300 SE from 1961. An electronically controlled five-speed automatic followed in the V8 and V12 S-Class models from 1995, and the 7G-TRONIC seven-speed automatic arrived in the S 430 and S 500 in 2004. The 9G-TRONIC appeared in a plug-in hybrid version in the S 560 e of 2017, with an electric motor developed with Bosch to match it. Mercedes-AMG uses its own AMG SPEEDSHIFT TCT 9G in models such as the GLC 53 4MATIC+. --- ## How does Mercedes-Benz all-wheel drive work? The idea is old: in 1907 Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft built the Dernburg-Wagen, the first passenger car with four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering. Mercedes-Benz presented its all-wheel drive under the name 4MATIC in 1985, and it reached the S-Class in 2002 and, as permanent all-wheel drive, the C-Class in 2007. The split varies by model: in the C-Class All-Terrain up to 45 percent of the drive goes to the front axle and up to 55 percent to the rear, while AMG Performance 4MATIC+ varies it continuously from pure rear-wheel drive to 50:50. The G-Class is a case of its own: the G 63 has three differential locks and a LOW RANGE off-road reduction of 2.93, which can be engaged at up to 40 km/h. --- ## What does this engineering mean for owners? Mainly that the badge is not enough to identify what is under the bonnet. In the 2026 C-Class the C 200, C 250 and C 300 share one two-litre engine in different outputs, and many current engines combine mechanical parts with a 48-volt system, an electric compressor or an integrated starter-generator. Before buying parts, fluids or a service, identify the exact engine and gearbox from the vehicle documents, and follow Mercedes-Benz’s approved service schedule for that car and the conditions it is driven in. A warning light or a change in how the engine or gearbox behaves is a reason for diagnosis: AutoTronix Lab reads the electronic systems, AutoTronix Garage looks after engines, gearboxes and drivetrains, and AutoTronix PERFORMANCE handles AMG and other high-performance models. --- ## Common Questions **Which was the first production car with a turbodiesel engine?** The Mercedes-Benz 300 SD of 1978, from the 116-series S-Class. It was also the first luxury saloon with a diesel engine. **What was the C 230 Kompressor?** A C-Class of 1995 and the first Mercedes-Benz passenger car with a Roots supercharger in more than 50 years, recalling the supercharged cars of the 1920s. **What is the 7G-TRONIC?** A seven-speed automatic transmission from Mercedes-Benz. It was introduced in the S 430 and S 500 of the 220-series S-Class in 2004. **When did the 4MATIC name first appear?** In 1985, when Mercedes-Benz first presented its all-wheel-drive system under that name. --- ## Related Otto Explanations - Horsepower vs Torque: What Do They Really Mean?: https://autotronix.om/otto/horsepower-vs-torque --- ## Related Services - AutoTronix Garage: https://autotronix.om/garage - AutoTronix Lab: https://autotronix.om/lab - AutoTronix PERFORMANCE: https://autotronix.om/performance --- ## Book a Service WhatsApp: +968 9966 8600 https://api.whatsapp.com/send/?phone=96899668600&type=phone_number&app_absent=0 Location: Mabellah Industrial, Street 7, Muscat — Saturday to Thursday, 9 AM to 9 PM