1957 Mercedes-Benz 190 ‘Ponton’Reg.

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503 PKKChassis no.

UnknownEngine no.

UnknownReplacing the pre-war 170 in 1953, the Mercedes-Benz W120/W121 was only Mercedes’ second brand-new car design of the post-war era, following from the large 300 Adenauer luxury car of 1951.

It made use of up-to-date ‘ponton’ styling – ponton, meaning pontoon in German, referring to the new style where running boards and separate wings and headlights were eliminated in favour of a smoother design.

Indeed, this generation of Mercedes became so associated with that style, that ‘Ponton’ became the car’s nickname.

The car was intended to be the company’s main seller, and as such had a four-cylinder engine instead of the six-cylinder units of its more upmarket siblings.

In 1956, this engine was upgraded to 1.9 litres and 75bhp.

Also available in diesel form – one of the first diesel cars to sell in large numbers – the Ponton proved to be immensely durable, and it was not uncommon for examples to rack ...