At the same time, the separate frame/floor assembly of the new bus permitted the company to continue supplying conventional bodybuilders with the chassis. And coachbuilders in Germany and elsewhere gladly availed themselves of the opportunity to create individual body designs for buses of every conceivable kind.
Body on the O 321 H frame/floor assembly, 1954.
Pleasing to the eye
Nevertheless, as a complete vehicle with three-pointed star, the original Mercedes-Benz O 321 H was pleasing enough to the eye in its own right. The curvaceous body created a thoroughly harmonious effect, the distinctive oval radiator grille incorporating the large brand symbol and circular headlamps. The same grille adorned the new cab-over-engine trucks of the 1950s - a feature clearly reminiscent of the legendary 300 SL - and forged an original brand bus face which still endures 50 years after the premiere of the O 321 H in the modern Mercedes-Benz Travego coach.
At the time of production start-up for the Mercedes-Benz O 321 H, buses were far less specialized than they are today. A single model series spanned the whole range from regular service bus to touring coach. But the O 321 H was more than up to the task. On the one hand, there was the regular service bus with wide, inward-folding doors ahead of the rear axle, destination indicator box and a soberly functional interior. And on the other, the vehicle came as a comfortable and elegant coach with airy, glass-bordered roof, entry behind the rear axle, hinged doors, luggage nets and finished in a variety of creative, multi-colored liveries.
Regular service bus version of the Mercedes-Benz O 321 H in Constance, 1960.