There are few places capable of making 140 years feel youthful. The Pyramids of Giza, standing for roughly four and a half millennia, are among them.
That was the extraordinary backdrop awaiting Mercedes-Benz’s “140 Years. 140 Places.” global journey as it arrived in Egypt. Against the only surviving Wonder of the Ancient World stood the latest S-Class: a machine representing 140 years of automotive development, from a company whose history began with the invention of the automobile itself.
From The Patent-Motorwagen To The Pyramids
On 29 January 1886, Carl Benz filed the patent for his three-wheeled Benz Patent-Motorwagen. It was an ungainly little contraption by modern standards, producing less than 1 hp and relying on Bertha Benz to demonstrate that it was useful for something beyond alarming pedestrians.
The rest, as they say, is history. The Benz Patent-Motorwagen changed human mobility forever. Mercedes-Benz is commemorating the 140th anniversary of that feat by sending three new S-Class saloons on a journey exceeding 50,000km. The cars are visiting 140 symbolic destinations across six continents before the tour concludes with a festival in Stuttgart later in 2026.
The S-Classes began their journey at the Mercedes-Benz Museum following the flagship’s world premiere in January. The route has since taken them through Europe, South America, North America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand before reaching Africa. Stops have ranged from locations central to Mercedes-Benz history, such as its Tuscaloosa factory, to landmarks including Route 66, Singapore and Jaipur.
Appropriately, Mercedes chose the S-Class for the assignment. For generations, the Sonderklasse has served as the marque’s rolling masterpiece. It’s the car in which new safety, comfort and engineering ideas are allowed to mature before filtering into the wider automotive world.
The Three-Pointed Star Meets Ancient Egypt
The Egyptian leg brought the convoy to the Pyramids of Giza, placing two very different expressions of human engineering and ingenuity in the same frame.
One was built from millions of blocks of stone using methods that continue to inspire debate. The other carries massive computing power, impressive active driver-assistance systems and enough luxury to make first-class suites feel under-specified.
Mercedes-Benz Egypt also marked the anniversary with a projection on Cairo Tower, illuminating the 187-metre landmark with imagery celebrating the company’s 140-year history.
The programme also included the soft opening of Mercedes-Benz Studio – 5A by Ezz Elarab Star. Designed around the marque’s global studio concept, the location will combine vehicle displays with luxury, design and community-focused experiences.
The convoy will then travel to El Gouna for the soft opening of Mercedes-Benz Studio – El Gouna by Star National Automotive. The move from the ancient landscape of Giza to the contemporary Red Sea destination neatly captures the thinking behind the wider tour: connecting the places that shaped civilisation with those attempting to shape what comes next.
A 50,000km world tour is inevitably part celebration and part endurance test. Yet, it feels right for Mercedes-Benz. The company’s legacy was never built solely inside museums or beneath dust covers. It was built out on the road, and 140 years later, that is precisely where the story continues.
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