The Mercedes-Benz W 153 was a luxury six cylinder passenger car built in parallel with the W 143 from 1938, and first presented in public at the Berlin Motor Show early in 1939.[1] It was one of several Mercedes-Benz models known, in its own time, as the Mercedes-Benz 230 (or sometimes, in this case, as the Mercedes-Benz Typ(e) 230).
The car had the same 3050 mm wheelbase as the longer wheelbase versions of the W143 from 1937, but with a completely new and much more modern body as well as a completely new chassis. In place of the earlier car’s pressed steel subframe the W 153 had an x-shaped oval tube subframe. The car had been developed by Hans Gustav Röhr who headed up the company's Passenger Car Development Department for two years prior to his death in August 1937.[2]
Engines and transmission
The engine was derived from the existing unit, but the cylinder bore was increased by one millimeter, which gave rise to an overall increase in engine size to 2289cc. Despite the slightly larger engine size and the inclusion of two twin chamber Solex 30 JFFK carburettors, claimed power was unchanged at 55 PS (40 kW): the compression ratio was set at the relatively low value of 1 : 6.6. Claimed top speed was 116 km/h (72 mph).[3]