• Ten historic Mercedes-Benz trucks were presented at the classic car event on the Schlossplatz in Karlsruhe - including real milestones in commercial vehicle history
• ·With the LP 1620, LP 323, L 6600 and other vehicles, Mercedes-Benz Trucks Classic demonstrates how technology, design and driving comfort have changed over the decades.
• With the Benz 1 CN, Mercedes-Benz Trucks Classic recalls the beginnings of motorized freight transport - an exhibit from the early days of automobile construction.

Karlsruhe / Leinfelden-Echterdingen - At this year's “Tribute to Carl Benz” on the 4th of May 2025, Mercedes-Benz Trucks Classic is presenting an broad selection of historic truck models from several decades of commercial vehicle history. In the midst of the “Festival of the Senses”, the vintage vehicles will provide a lively insight into the development of truck construction with the three-pointed star - from the pre-war flatbed truck to the front-wheel drive truck with its strong character at the end of the 1960s.

Embedded in the traditional city festival, the Schlossplatz in Karlsruhe will once again be transformed into a museum on wheels on Sunday. Between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., the vehicles will be parked in the so-called Ehrenhof directly in front of the palace, where visitors will be welcomed with in-depth specialist knowledge, exciting stories and technical expertise. Employees from Mercedes-Benz Trucks Classic will be on hand to assist guests directly at the vehicles on display.

Ten classics with history - from a Nigeria truck to a unique fire engine

This year, Mercedes-Benz Trucks Classic is presenting ten special exhibits - from everyday workers and international ambassadors to special vehicles for fire departments and long-distance transport. These include the impressive L 4500, which was once used in Nigeria, and the LP 1519 with its characteristic cubic cab - a classic of the medium-duty truck class of the 1960s and 70s.

Fire department fans will get their money's worth with the LAF 710 and the powerful L 6600, including the fire department superstructure.

The LAF 710 was used by the Robert Bosch plant fire department in Stuttgart until 2005 and is preserved in an unrestored but top original condition.

The LP 1620, the LP 323 and the light LP 608 demonstrate the breadth of the Mercedes-Benz portfolio from this period. The LP 1620 offered a completely new feeling of space with its cabin with a low engine tunnel and generous glazing all round. Numerous maintenance flaps made the permanently mounted cab special, which quickly earned it the nickname “Advent calendar”.

The LP 323 is also a representative of the early front-wheel-drive generation that Mercedes-Benz brought onto the market in the mid-1950s. The “P” in the type designation stood for “Pullmann” - in reference to luxurious railroad carriages, and referred to the comfortable cabin design.

The L 5000 brings the authentic charm of the 1950s back to the Schlossplatz. As a further development of the wartime L 4500, it was modernized both technically and visually: The output of the inline six-cylinder pre-chamber engine increased to 120 hp, while the body was adapted to contemporary design trends with rounder shapes on the radiator, bumper and side hood flaps. The L 5000 was manufactured at the Gaggenau plant, and the L 334 variant was later produced for export until 1963.

A look at the beginning and end of the journey through time

The oldest Mercedes-Benz Trucks Classic vehicle at this year's “Tribute to Carl Benz” is the Benz 1 CN, an impressive exhibit from 1922, the early years of motorized goods transport. Equipped with a displacement of 4,710 cm³ and a four-cylinder S 100 petrol engine, it generates around 35 hp, enough to transport goods at moderate speed through town and country.

At the other end of the journey through time is the Mercedes-Benz LP 608, a lightweight front-wheel-drive platform truck with a short cubic cab, which went into series production in 1965. The LP 608 is powered by an OM 314 in-line four-cylinder direct-injection diesel engine with 59 kW (80 hp) and a displacement of 3783 cm³. Coupled to a five-speed gearbox, the vehicle reaches a top speed of up to 80 km/h. With its angular cab and compact body, the LP 608 stands for the era of functional, urban commercial vehicles of the 1960s - and at the same time marks a new beginning in the production history of Mercedes-Benz Trucks. It is particularly noteworthy that a vehicle of exactly this type in precisely this design was the very first truck to be produced at the new Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth on July 14, 1965.