OM138
Inline-4- 138 2.5 L · 2,545 cc
46 PS
34 kW · 46 hp a 3,000 rpm
Mercedes-Benz Large Sedan · Typ 260 D
W138
The world’s first series-production diesel passenger car.
- Production
- 1936–1940
- Built
- 1,967
- Body
- Sedan
- Chassis
- W138
The world's first series-production diesel passenger car did not arrive with fanfare from a startup — it came from Mercedes-Benz in 1936, as the Typ 260 D, and it changed what motorists thought a saloon could burn.
The W138 paired the OM 138 diesel engine with the established Mercedes-Benz saloon architecture: a 2.6-liter compression-ignition four-cylinder, heavier but far thriftier than any petrol equivalent of the day. Taxi fleets and long-distance drivers were the natural audience; Mercedes-Benz had solved the diesel passenger car not as a laboratory curiosity but as a car you could buy from a showroom.
1,967 were built on the W138 chassis between 1936 and 1940. The Typ 260 D established a diesel tradition at Mercedes-Benz that would outlast the pre-war company itself.
Every model.
2 distinct series across 1936–1940 — each identified by its chassis and engine numbers from period factory data.
| Modelo | Años-modelo | Chasis | Motor | Transmisión | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type 260 D | 1936–1937 | 138 | 138 | incluido arriba | |
| Type 260 D | 1937–1940 | 138 | 138 | 1,967 |
* La cifra de producción publicada cubre todas las series de ese modelo; la fuente no la desglosa más.
Engines.
The OM138 as fitted to the W138.