In 1886 Karl Benz patented the Motorwagen, today regarded as the first ever gasoline-powered car. With the merger of Karl Benz’s company and the Daimler Motors Corporation in 1926, Mercedes-Benz was born, and since then the combined company has maintained a worldwide reputation for quality. Mercedes-Benz uses a special numbers-and-letters nomenclature to identify their vehicles. Among its mos significant models is the 300SL “Gullwing” produced in 1954, a two-seater coupe that was the fastest production car of its day.
