owner: Fred Schumacher / Caracas, Venezuela
Type W180 (6 cylinder / sedan / cabriolet / coupé)
Including models: 220a / 220S
1955 Type W180 220a sedan
owner: Fred Schumacher / Caracas, Venezuela
This photo was taken at a friend's wedding in April 2008. This Right Hand Drive (RHD) Ponton came from the factory with maroon paint. The previous owner had it re-painted with reference to the factory two-tone option. The original Becker radio is not working at present. I have only owned the car for six months. I am the fourth owner since new. This car would have been a very brave and expensive purchase in the UK in 1955 as the war with Germany had ended only 10 years earlier. There was a lot of negativity towards German products back then. This attitude no longer prevails today, thank goodness!
Photo submitted: May 1, 2008
1955 Type W180 220a sedan
owner: Carlsson Ng / Toronto, Canada
The Type 220a sedans can be distinguished from the 220S by the lack of a chrome accent strip on the front fenders. The rear fenders of the 220a had the same accent strip as the 220S models. Above: Carlsson's 1955 Type 220a before restoration.
June 2003: Carlsson Ng's 220a after an extensive restoration
Autumn 2003: Carlsson Ng's 1955 Type 220a after restoration
text and/or photos updated: December 10, 2002 / June 5, 2003 / January 10, 2004
1955 Type W180 220a sedan
owner: Kwanchai Wacharapairoj / Bangkok, Thailand
Photos Submitted: September 5, 2010
1955 Type W180 220a sedan
owner: Moosa E. Moosa / Massachusetts
1955 Type W180 220a sedan
owner: Franz Rathgeber / Augsburg, Bavaria
franzrathgeber@googlemail.com
Dear Sir,
I am from Augsburg, Bavaria and send you kind regards and congratulations for your excellent mbzponton website. Attached is a photo of my 1955 Mercedes-Benz Type 220a Ponton with full winter trim perhaps being of interest to other friends of our world-wide Ponton community. The car is protected against salt corrosion with Mike Sanders grease and oil so that driving on snowy roads is not too damaging to the car. Otherwise, the nearly four month winter season is not too long for the car and the driver.
With kind regards,
Franz Rathgeber
Photo submitted: August 5, 2009
1955 Type W180 220a sedan with Webasto sliding sunroof
owner: Bjerne von Schulman / Visby, Sweden
1955 Type W180 220a sedan
owner: Emilio Castillo Gavira / m146761@yahoo.com
/ Cádiz, Spain
This car was my grandfather's since new. It has more than 1,000,000 km on the clock and I restored it completely ten years ago. I love it because I traveled in it a lot of times when I was a child.
Photo submitted: January 24, 2005
Type W180 220a sedan
Loading a Mercedes-Benz Type W180 220a Ponton sedan in to a cargo plane
Regarding the plane, Dennis Schauber writes, "Judging from the shape of the vertical stabilizer and the American registration, I'd say the it was a Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando. It's a fairly large twin-engine cargo plane that the U.S. flew over "The Hump" (eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains) in WWII. A lot of them went on to cargo outfits after the war."
Photo submitted: February 21, 2010
1955 Type W180 220a sedan with Webasto sliding sunroof
former owner: Marwan Nusair / Cincinnati, Ohio
In 2005 Marwan wrote, "From the nostalgia archives, here is a picture of me with the 220a back in the late 1960s. From the appearance of everything I am homing in on 1968 or 1969. Today, car and driver are still together, but with some differences: my hair has not been black in some time, and it is a lot shorter now by choice, there are about 40 extra lbs of me, and the car is in better shape now than it was then."
Marwan Nusair with his Type 220a Ponton sedan in 2007
"My grandfather had a friend of his buy the car during a long visit to Germany in 1955, and then drove it to Jordan with the oval German plate on it. I still remember that since it was so odd to see an oval plate. He gave the car to me when I graduated from high school in 1965."
Regards,
Marwan NusairUpdate: Marwan sold the car in 2012.
Photos submitted: November 27, 2005 and sometime in 2007
Type W180 220a sedan
owner: Nick Thompson / UK
1956 Type W180 220S sedan with Webasto sliding sunroof
owner: Griff Lambert / glambert@sbcglobal.net
Los Angeles, California USA
Griff writes: "I bought the 220S in 1975 from its original owner who was a German Mercedes-Benz mechanic who purchased it factory-new in Stuttgart, and brought it to California in 1965. It has been reliable transportation for me for over twenty five years."
Photo submitted: September 22, 2001
1956 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: Dag Storm Henriksen / Norway
more photos
Photos submitted: October 12, 2009
1956 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: Anthony Bunn Kasemsup / Thailand
1956 Type W180 220S sedan
Indran Rajanathan / Toronto
1956 Type W180 220S sedan
Andre Zimmermann / Tokyo, Japan
Hello,
When visiting the Ponton Photo Gallery, I scrolled through the list of owners and realized I had not done my part to be included! I purchased this 220S in 1984 in Winterthur, Switzerland. The former owner bought it second-hand from a dealer in Winterthur in 1962. The car is fully restored, and had an electronic fuel pump and air conditioning (A/C) installed. For the A/C, I switched from the generator to an alternator.Best regards,
Andre
November 22, 2011
Photo submitted: November 22, 2011 / uploaded: January 12, 2012
Type W180 220S sedan with Webasto steel sunroof
Rare photo of a Type 220S Ponton with a steel sunroof made by
Webasto.
The canvas sunroof was far more common on the Mercedes-Benz Pontons.
Photo courtesy: Ramzi Saba - Lebanon
1957 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: Christopher Craig / Dallas, Texas USA
1957 Type W180 220S sedan
owners: Udo and Frank Mertens / Germany
1957 Type W180 220S sedan
Hello,
I bought my 1957 220S Ponton sedan in Madrid, Spain in 1989. It has the original period plate number, and I restored the body in the 1990s, but did not complete the interior. I am considering transforming the car into a rally car for regular local events. The idea is to follow the Monte Carlo rally cars of 1955 and 1956, but I had not discovered any reference photos until recently.Best regards from northern Spain,
Andres Porta
porta@yerbero.es
Photo submitted: January 15, 2011 / uploaded: January 12, 2012
1957 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: Jeff Bennet / Auckland, New Zealand
I just discovered your website, and think it's great. It contains lots of useful information, which I have been looking for. I am in Auckland, New Zealand and this is my 1957 Type 220S with 238,000 miles.
1957 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: Vitalie Didenco / Republic of Moldova
1957 Type W180 220S sedan
Ricardo Alarcón Jiménez / raj1@aljim.com.mx
Mexico City, Mexico
Type W180 220S sedan
Loading into ship's cargo hold
Photo submitted: February 21, 2010
Type W180 220S sedan
Loading into ship's cargo hold
Photo submitted: February 21, 2010
1957 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: Mark Kurtz / Saranac
Lake, New York
markkurtz@adelphia.net
Photo submitted: January 13, 2003 / Whiteface Mountain in background
Email address updated October 30, 2005
1957 Type W180 220S sedan with Webasto sliding sunroof
Gustavo Tostes / Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1957 Type W180 220S sedan
Owner: Patrick Garcia
This 1957 Type 220S sedan (metallic gray, with red interior) underwent its first restoration in 1986 when it was purchased from a gentleman in Washington. The restoration was about a 7 on a 1-10 scale. I purchased the car in the spring of 2004 seeing that it was rusted out in an empty gravel driveway surrounded by trees.
Since then, it spent 1.5 years having other restoration work completed. This car is beautiful and must be seen to be appreciated! I upgraded the wheel size 2 inches. These are 15", and the normal 220S wheel size is 13."
Patrick Garcia
Louisville, Kentucky
JPPG007@aol.com
July 20, 2006
1958 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: Luca Fronduti La Loggia / Torino, Italy
This is my 1958 220S Ponton sedan. It has 27,000 km and has been stored for 27 years in a garage. I intend to restore her. In Italy, the car sold new for 3,350,000 lire when most people were making 40,000 lire a month. In other words, it was worth seven year's wages to the average Italian worker in 1958. Today, the Mercedes-Benz Ponton is very rare in Italy. I have been visiting the mbzponton.org site for four years and it is fantastic!
Photo submitted: September 14, 2009
1958 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: Jose Luis Gonzalez Navarro / Lleida, Spain
The 220S Ponton has been restored and runs well. It is a pleasant driving experience. I also have another 220S Ponton pending restoration. I find the Mercedes-Benz Ponton website to be very useful. For additional information you can send me an e-mail.
Best regards,
Jose Luis
Photo submitted December 28, 2009
1958 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: Bambang Witono Angkawijaya / Indonesia
1958 Type W180 220S sedan (RHD)
owner: Gordon Evans / oldmerc@yahoo.com / London, England
Photos submitted: March 29, 2009
owner: Martin Putnam
/ msputnam@yahoo.com
Oakland, California U.S.A.
Photos submitted: January 20, 2002
1958 Type W180 220S sedan with Webasto sliding sunroof
Owner: Bob Bush / Louisville, Kentucky
Bob and his bride Virginia on their happy day / April 17, 2004
Photo submitted: January 14, 2005
1958 Type W180 220S sedan with Webasto sliding sunroof
Owner: Frank Stahlhut / Muenster-Westfalen, Germany
1958 Type W180 220S sedan with Webasto sliding sunroof
owner: Thomas P. Klose / Thomas@Pontom.de / Halstenbek, Germany
Photo submitted: March 12, 2003
1958 Type W180 220S sedan with Webasto sliding sunroof
owner: James Graham / jgrahamdmd@aol.com / San Antonio, Texas
Photo submitted:
June 22, 20091958 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: John Aartsen / British Columbia, Canada
Photo submitted:
February 26, 20071958 Type W180 220S sedan (RHD)
owner: Jan Naude / Somerset West, South Africa
Photo submitted:
January 4, 2009Type W180 220S sedan
Photo taken on September 9, 2002 / Suresnes, France (outside Paris)
Photo submitted: September 14, 2002
1958 Type W180 220S sedan
Former owner: David
van Duzer / Arlington, Virginia
He bought the car in 1970 for $395 and owned it for 28 years.
1958 Type 220S sedan
owner: Kevin Kuhn / Malvern, Pennsylvania
1958 Type 220S sedan
owner: Emil Kuschke / emilk@sintec.co.za
Pretoria, South Africa
Photo submitted: November 11, 2005
1958 Type 220S Ponton sedan
owner: Brian Glusovich / glus@charter.net
Cambria, California
Mercedes-Benz Club event (1996) at the Point Sur Lighthouse
Photo and .PDF file submitted: October 20, 2009
1958 Type 220S sedan
owner: Craig Semple / aegean@iberpass.com
The car is in Melbourne, Australia, although I currently work in Turkey. This 1958 Type 220S has a Hydrak automatic cluch. I am the second owner. The first owner (now deceased) drove the car from new until 2002. It has done 101,000 miles and is in fairly original condition. I believe it has been repainted at some time in its life - in the original DB 157G (grey beige). The interior is original red leather, with no rips or any major marks. It was supplied with all the original books, and sales brochures. Kind Regards, Craig Semple
Photo Submitted: March 22, 2003
1958 Type 220S sedan
owner: Chris Williams / western Finger Lakes region of New York state
1958 Type 220S sedan
1958 Mercedes-Benz Type 220S Ponton rallye sedan. In this photo, the 220S is participating in the "Albis Bergrennen" (hill climb) near Zürich, Switzerland, which was held on July 19-20, 2003. It is an old traditional race, revived again this year after a long break. On a hill climb, you try to drive up a hill as fast as possible. Typically, you have a few trial runs, and then a few race runs. The best two of your race runs count. Modifications: The engine is a Type 130.920 from a W108 280S, front disk brakes, roll cage, race seats and harness. Planned modifications are: fuel cell, suspension upgrades, limited slip differential.
Best Regards,
Stefan Fallet (driver)
October 17, 2003
See Links page for web site
1958 Type W180 220S sedan
Somewhere in France
1958 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: Kevin van Slooten / Santa Fe, New Mexico
1959 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: Osman
Kilic / Istanbul, Turkey
1959 Type W180 220S sedan with Webasto sliding sunroof
owner: Dick Hartt / Pasadena, California
Dick Hartt and his wife have owned this beautiful sedan since
1965.
2011 Christmas card
Photo submitted: February 29, 2012 / uploaded March 6, 2012
Rear view / The enlargement (click photo) details the Ulonite 105 reflectors
Photo submitted: January 27, 2003 / uploaded March 6, 2012
Huge Webasto sunroof and DB190G Graphite Gray paint
Photo submitted: January 27, 2003 / uploaded March 6, 2012
1959 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: Linda Caplinger / Los Gatos, California
1959 Type W180 220S sedan
Keith Barnwell in 1968 with his first Type 220S Ponton sedan
Let me introduce myself. My name is Keith Barnwell and I live in Leavenworth, Kansas 66048. Recently, I purchased a 1959 Mercedes-Benz Type 220S Ponton sedan from El Paso, Texas. In 1968 I had a Mercedes-Benz Ponton like the one I just bought. Both had the Hydrak automatic clutch. In 1968 the National Guard unit I was in got activated to serve in Vietnam. My salary before was good. However, when the Guard unit was activated I quickly found out that Privates cannot afford a Mercedes-Benz, so I had to sell the best car I ever had.
Keith's new 1959 Type 220S Ponton sedan
Now I am 62 years of age and have a new toy. The new 1959 220S is not rusted since it was from El Paso. The body and frame are excellent and the engine runs. However, it needs some cleaning. The red leather interior needs to be replaced. The paint is fair, but I plan to give it a good paint job. The hubcaps are fair but I would like to purchase a set that rates good to excellent.
Keith E. Barnwell
kbarnwell@kc.rr.com
Leavenworth, Kansas
July 1, 2009
1959 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: Christo Loubser / Namibia, Soutern Africa
christo@qanam.com
This 1959 Mercedes-Benz 220S belonged to my grandfather. I am looking after it now. It has a few bruises from driving on dirt roads all the time but it is in excellent mechanical condition.
Photos submitted: August 26, 2009
1959 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: Matías A. Bombal
Matías A. Bombal and Galine
matiasabombal@gmail.com
Master of Ceremonies
Stage - Screen - Radio - Television
287 Cruise Way / Sacramento, California
Photo submitted: March 1, 2012
Photo submitted: June 22, 2012
1959 Type W180 220S sedan with Hydrak automatic clutch
Owner: Doug Meates, Hampton (Victoria) Australia
Imported to Australia in 1959 and purchased by a Gippsland farmer who drove it for ten years before selling it about 1969. The new owner drove it for less than a year before storing it in his shed where it remained for the next twenty five years. A mechanic, Neal Batten from the Sale Mercedes-Benz dealership then acquired the car and completed a three year restoration, selling it in 1997 to Mike Symmons, a Mercedes-Benz Club (Victoria) member. I purchased the car in early 2007 after it had won its class in the Mercedes-Benz Club (ACT) Concours d'Elegance in 2006. I have completed many rallies in the past two years completing 10,000 very reliable and enjoyable miles in that time. Current odometer reading is 84,000 miles.
Regards,
Doug Meates
1959 Type W180 220S sedan
Pam & Hans Matter / Capetown, South Africa
1959 Type W180 220S sedan with Hydrak automatic clutch
This photo has a dream-like painterly quality. Do you agree?
Woolf Israelsohn / Capetown, South Africa
Dear Sir,
The attached photos are of my late uncle Woolf Israelsohn's 1959 Mercedes-Benz Type 220S Ponton sedan (assembled in South Africa) with Hydrak automatic clutch. He purchased the car in Cape Town in 1959, and traded it in on a 1968 Mercedes-Benz W108 250S. Pity he did not keep the Ponton! He owned a further two Mercedes-Benz vehicles — a 1973 280S, and finally, a 1984 380SEC, which he owned up until his death in 1995 at the age of 84 years!
Compliments of the Season!
Derrick Lewis
Hout Bay, South Africa
garlik@mweb.co.za
December 24, 2011
Photos submitted: December 24, 2011 / uploaded: January 13, 2012
1959 Type W180 220S sedan with Webasto sliding sunroof
owner: Marcelo M. / southern Brazil
1959 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: Andy S. Hidayat / Paree, Indonesia / February, 1974
This is a photo of myself with my 1959 Type 220S Ponton sedan, and my wife, in February, 1974 in the small city of Paree, East Java in Indonesia. We were still young then, and had just gotten married in December, 1973.
The second photo shows us in November, 2009 in Lakeland, Florida. Throughout the years we remained passionate about owning the this style of Mercedes-Benz. When I go back to Indonesia today, I still drive the black 220S in the 1974 photo.
Lakeland, Florida / November 15, 2009
Photos submitted: July 11, 2004 and November 26, 2009
1959 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: John Radford / Australia
jkradfo@yahoo.com.au
The vehicle is No. 127 of the CKD (Complete Knock Down) car series which were built / re-assembled at the AMI plant in Port Melbourne. Australian Motor Industries also built Toyotas at the time.
Photo submitted: December 6, 2005
1959 Type W180 220S sedan
"US Mercedes Team" / owner: Kevin Clemens
Participated in the "Around the World in 80 Days"
rallye
from May to July 2000.
Mercedes-Benz vehicles that participated in the rallye: 1956 190 (W121) / 1959 220S (W180) / 1959 190SL (W121) / 1959 220SE (W128) / 1959 220S cabriolet (W180) / 1960 190D (W121) / 1963 220Sb (W111) / 1963 220SEb coupé (W111) / 1964 220SEb (W111) / 1964 230SL (W113) / 1964 230SL (W113) / 1965 190 (W110) / 1965 220SEb (W111) / 1966 250SE cabriolet (W111) / 1967 250SE (W108) / 1967 250SL (W113)
The preparations and modifications that were made to this 220S were covered in three feature articles of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America's bi-monthly magazine, The Star . The issues were: March-April, 2000 / July-August, 2000 / September-October, 2000. As of November, 2003, the car is in the Western Reserve Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.
1959 Type W180 220S sedan
former owner: Ray Ilich
1959 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: Phil Goschnick / Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia
1959 Type W180 220S sedan with Webasto sliding sunroof
former owner: Richard Priebe / Salisbury, North Carolina
A fine example, won in a raffle!
Photo submitted: November 22, 2002
Richard Priebe died August 6, 2006
1959 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: Andrew H. Litkowiak
1959 Type 220S sedan
owner: Tony Rossmann / Oakland, California
I am the second owner of this Mercedes-Benz Type 220S Ponton sedan, having purchased it in 1973 from the original owner who imported it from Germany to Orange County, California. Everything except the restored upholstery remains original, including the working Becker radio. For more than a decade this car served as my primary transportation working in the Eastern Sierra mountains and desert. It now resides more peaceably in Oakland, California with more than 160,000 miles, more than half of which was accumulated in my tenure.
Tony Rossmann
Oakland, California
ar@landwater.com
Photo Submitted: June 18, 2009
1959 Type W180 220S sedan
owner: Redwan Youssef / Dubai, UAE
Photos submitted: August 13, 2010
Type W180 220S sedan
owner: unknown / New Zealand
Type W180 220S sedan
owner and location unknown
Type W180 220S sedan
owner: Felix Rigoli / Uruguay
Type W180 220S cabriolet
Type W180 220S cabriolet
Paul Russell and Company / Massachusetts / July, 2001
1957 Type W180 220S cabriolet
Bob Gunthorp / Chula Vista, California
1957 Type W180 220S cabriolet
owner: Ramon Ojeda / Venezuela
Awesome page and great effort! I have been following your webpage for the past four or five years. I used to live in Caracas, Venezuela and remember sending you a photo of my 220S cabriolet. I am now living in Florida, USA and brought my Ponton with me.
Best Regards,
Ramon Ojeda
ramonojeda@earthlink.net
new photo submitted: June 21, 2003
Former owner (1975 - 2003): Tom Shields / Palo Alto,
California USA
photo: Jeff Miller / February
15, 1995
Current owner (June 2012): Raffoul Traboulsy / Beirut, Lebanon
Type W180 220S cabriolets
owners: Konrad Schoebel (left / 1958)
Scott and Eva Gordon (right / 1957)
Menlo Park, California U.S.A.
owner: Ron van Seventer / Palo Alto, California
1958 Type W180 220S cabriolet
1959 Type W180 220S cabriolet
owner: Len Sokoloff / North Carolina U.S.A.
1959 Type W180 220S cabriolet
owner: Donald Cooke / New Hampshire
Don.Cooke@teleatlas.com
Dove Gray (or Arabian Gray). 140,000 miles, newly-rebuilt engine.
1959 Type W180 220S cabriolet
owner: Brad Young / bfordyou@msn.com / Redwood City, California
Photo: Scott Gordon / Photo submitted: December 11, 2002
Type W180 220S cabriolet
At the Frankfurt Airport, a Mercedes-Benz Type 220S Ponton cabriolet (weighing over 1,360 kg [3,000 lbs.]) is slowly raised to the doors of a Pan American World Airways Clipper, prior to its 18-hour trans-Atlantic crossing to New York. Notice the two-tone paint job.
"Mercedes-Benz In Aller Welt" Issue 2, page 5, September 1956
1959 Type W180 220S cabriolet
owner: Doug Broome / douglas.broome@verizon.net / McLean, Virginia
Photo: Phil Langlois / Photo submitted: April 13, 2003
1957 Type W180 220S coupé
owner: Dr. Wernher von Braun
Dr. Wernher von Braun with his Type 220S Ponton coupé (circa 1960) in Huntsville, Alabama. Note the bumperette accumulated a couple of creases. Besides being a famous rocket engineer, Wernher von Braun was also the director of Daimler-Benz of North America. Mercedes-Benz of North America (MBNA) gave or loaned him several high-end Mercedes-Benz models during his career in the USA.
|
English speakers routinely mispronounce Wernher von Braun's
name. In German, it sounds something like: "Vairn-er fon Brown" (with a rolled "r"). He
accepted the Anglicized pronunciation of his first name (which is an old-fashioned spelling
of Werner) and of the von that indicated he was from the nobility, but never accepted
"Brawn." Braun means, and is pronounced "Brown"
(Neufeld *).
Works Cited: Neufeld, Michael J. "Von Braun - Dreamer of Space - Engineer of War" Smithsonian Institution, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-307-38937-4. Print. * un-numbered page, between pages xiii and 1 |
1958 Type W180 220S coupé with steel sunroof
owner: Malek Mrowa / mmrowa@cyberia.
Photo submitted: August 9, 2009
1959 Type W180 220S coupé
Fernando Del Valle / Marbella, Spain
1959 Type W180 220S coupé with Webasto steel sunroof
owner: David van Duzer / Arlington, Virginia
After a 15-year search, David purchased the car in January 2006. He also owned a 1958 220S Ponton sedan since 1970 (see elsewhere on this page).
1959 Type W180 220S coupé
former owner (1987 - 2007) / Bob Berman
Rose Valley Pennsylvania (just south of Philadelphia)
Photo submitted June 13, 2007
Type W180 220S coupé
owner: Philippe de Lespinay
