Mercedes ‘youngtimer’

By Neil Dowling on 29th April 2025 Marketing, News Mercedes-Benz

THE Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart is turning the clock back 20 years with its ‘Youngtimer’ exhibition.

Showing 10 vehicles from the 1990s and 2000s, the special exhibition has contemporary exhibits and will be open until November 2, 2025.

Each exhibition has a thematic or visual merchandising display and each has its own story. The ‘Easy Life’ display is a homage to the 1990s with the SLK (170 series) and CLK Cabriolet (208 series), while ‘Supersonic’ has the 190 E 2.5 EVO II (201 series), E 500 Limited (124 series) and SLR McLaren Roadster (199 series) to represent the harmony of performance and the joy of innovation.

The E 60 AMG power saloon (210 series) is the centrepiece of the individual and creative ‘Subculture’ while the CL 600 (215 series) and CLS 350 CGI (219 series) demonstrate luxuriously elegant sportiness in the ‘Refinement’ section.

The ‘Space’ display focuses on visionary approaches in technology and design with the SL 500 (129 series) and Vision R 320 CDI (251 series).

The large glass cubes in the museum’s multistorey car park will showcase five more young classics until at least mid-October 2025. It will show a 160 ‘Hakkinen’ (168 series), CL 500 (140 series), ML 500 (163 series), Vision CLK 320 CDI (209 series) and C 55 AMG (203 series).

Each vehicle is staged as a model car in oversized packaging, resembling a Matchbox toy display.

Another young classic to be displayed on the “Classic” island near the escalator between the museum’s Levels 0 and 1 until at least mid-June 2025 is the A-Class HyPer concept car (168 series).

Mercedes-Benz said that each of these young classics tells its own exciting story.

“The CL 600, for example, is the premiere vehicle of the C 215 series at the Geneva Motor Show in 1999 and boasts exceptional equipment features,” it said.

“Concept vehicles such as the A-Class HyPer, Vision R 320 CDI, Vision CLK 320 CDI Cabriolet and CLS 350 CGI show drive innovations important at the time. “The A 160 ‘Hakkinen’ is one of only 125 vehicles built with the name of the famous racing driver on both sides and also bears his signature on the bonnet and steering wheel.

“The ‘Youngtimer’ special exhibition offers fun and entertainment at several interactive stations supported by artificial intelligence, such as the arcade racing game in the style of the 1990s or the creation of a short music clip.”

The event also has a ‘Face Swap’ tool where visitors can use artificial intelligence to integrate their face into existing images, and at the ‘Refinement’ station they can create a dream image with a young classic.