Mercedes-Benz Continues 140 Years Tour with S-Class in South America

Mercedes-Benz reports on its 140 Years. 140 Places journey as the new S-Class travels across South America after its January 2026 world premiere.

Mercedes-Benz’s anniversary journey, “140 Years. 140 Places”, has reached South America, with the new S-Class continuing its transcontinental drive. Following its World Premiere on January 29, 2026, three S-Class saloons set off on a global route spanning more than 50,000 kilometres across six continents.

The initiative marks 140 years since Karl Benz’s 1886 patent for the Motorwagen, a milestone regarded by the company as the birth of the automobile. In this context, the journey is more than a product showcase. It is positioned as a symbolic bridge between the origins of automotive engineering and its present-day technological ambitions.

The South American leg includes São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile. At selected checkpoints, the new S-Class vehicles are joined by classic Mercedes-Benz models, current production cars and local fleet vehicles, creating encounters that connect heritage with contemporary mobility.

The regional focus also reflects Mercedes-Benz’s long-standing industrial presence in South America. The company opened its plant in São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, in September 1956, establishing a manufacturing base that has shaped its operations in the region for decades. In Argentina, production activities have been associated with the Virrey del Pino facility. These historical ties add depth to the current route, which revisits markets where the brand has maintained a sustained footprint.

The choice of the S-Class as the central model underscores its role as the technological flagship of the brand. Since the official introduction of the S-Class designation with the 116 series in 1972, the model line has repeatedly served as a platform for innovation. Milestones such as the introduction of ABS in 1978 and the driver airbag in the early 1980s were first associated with the S-Class, reinforcing its position within the company’s development strategy.

According to Mercedes-Benz, the global drive will cover 140 symbolic locations and conclude in Stuttgart in October 2026, returning to the city where the company’s history began. Framed as the most ambitious brand journey undertaken by Mercedes-Benz, the project blends celebration, product positioning and historical reflection into a single moving narrative.