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The ancient Chinese believed that turtles were a symbol of longevity and fortitude. This belief applies itself perfectly to the tough turtle-back designed Mercedes-Benz that begun production in mid-1953 and is still a favorite among Benz enthusiasts today—the Ponton.

Type 170 series. As post World War II Europe saw itself recovering, sales and production of Mercedes-Benz cars grew and demand for these cars spread all over the continent and spilled over North America. So Why Are They Called Pontons?

The word “ponton” is the German word for “pontoon”. In the automotive context, it refers to the rounded shape of the vehicle body. The term Pontonkarosserie (pontoon body) was also used in reference to other German automobile marques of the same period, such as Opel.

According to most automotive historians, the term Pontonkarosserie was made to distinguish them from the pre-WWII design conventionalities of the other cars back in 1953. The headlamps, for example—which previously had been mounted atop large free-standing fenders on earlier models like the Mercedes-Benz Type 170—were now integrated into the fenders, becoming part of the whole body. At the time, they were compared to the shape of a pontoon, hence, the moniker was born.

These new designs however, retained some resemblance to its gothic predecessors, albeit with a flat and slab-sided rectangular appearance. But the real innovation of the car lay in its stressed unit-construction shell. This type of shell design made it stronger and lighter than its predecessor, the pre-War Type 170S.

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