This Mercedes is a car without clear paternity. Mercedes-Daimler Benz was haunted, as were many other manufacturers of the time, by the concept of the "people's car.” In 1933, the 130 H rear engine was a first approach to the people car. The automobile was small, lacked power and, according to witnesses, handled poorly. It also was no beauty queen.

In 1935, Daimler Benz forgot the 130 H and created a nice central engine roadster. For reasons unknown, production was limited to five cars. The only surviving car stands proudly in the Mercedes Museum in Germany.

Obviously, the 170 H resembles a Volkswagen deluxe with a good engine, the type 170, which was still alive after the war in conventional Mercedes cars: the 170 V. In 1937, Hitler lost his patience with Porsche's prototypes and commanded DB to realize 30 KDF cars. In 1937, our 170 H was imported to the United States with instruments in English units. The leather seats, overdrive, and radio were definitely not the staples of the Volkswagen Class. On the other hand, coil springs replaced the torque-bar suspension and the engine was water cooled. The cabriolet limousine body, with its open top, was trendy in pre-war Germany.