- 60 years ago Mercedes-Benz presented what would become a common life-saving fixture on cars: the crumple zone.
- Concealed behind this was the invention of the deformable areas at the front and rear of a car that is still today generally referred to as "the crumple zone".
- In more recent times, it has even been applied in railway locomotive and carriage design.
- Bela Barenyi was the first to discover that in a collision, kinetic energy must be absorbed through deformation in order for the occupants to be protected. He logically split the car body into three "boxes": a soft front section, a rigid passenger cell and a soft rear section.
- The patent was granted on August 28, 1952.
- On a global scale, Barenyi's safety bodywork made its debut in production cars in the first six-cylinder Mercedes-Benz 220, 220 S and 220 SE models of 1959, their most striking feature being distinctive tail fins.
- Developments under the engine hood were equally revolutionary: the steering gear moved far to the rear and the auxiliary units were arranged in such a way so as not to form blocks with each other in the event of a collision, but rather to slip past one another, permitting more effective crumpling of the bodywork.
- For the first time ever, the interior was completely redesigned in order to reduce the injury hazard in an accident. Hard or sharp-edged controls were replaced by yielding, rounded or recessed units, combined with recessed door handles, a dashboard which yielded on impact, padded window ledges, window winders, armrests and sun visors and a steering wheel that featured a large padded boss. Under heavy impact, the rear-view mirror was released from its bracket.
- In 1961, anchorage points for seat belts were fitted as standard in the "tail fin". Lap belts were available from 1957, and the first diagonal shoulder belts appeared in 1962. Round-shoulder tyres also made their debut on this car.
Source: Daimler via WorldCarFans
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